


Dangan Ronpa 2 1/2

by Purplefox135



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: AU, Aishi Biyuki, Biyuki Aishi, Dangan Ronpa - Freeform, Dangan Ronpa 2 - Freeform, Danganronpa 2 - Freeform, Death, Mizuki Tenjo, Multi, Other, Strong Language, Tenjo Mizuki, Ultimate Artist, Ultimate Author, danganronpa - Freeform, mature themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-31 10:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8574658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purplefox135/pseuds/Purplefox135
Summary: Okay, so the story goes mostly along the plot of the original Danganronpa 2 game, however two new characters have been added in and will thus change the story here and there. It might change more drastically the further in I get, depending. Warning for spoilers for Danganronpa 2 if you haven't played the game or watched someone else play, and if you have I'm sorry if you get at all bored with the long spans of text that stay mostly the same from the original. It also doesn't start at the beginning of the game since that would require basically an entire chapter or more of just me rewording the game text and adding in little tidbits.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Dangan Ronpa in any way or any of their characters. The only two characters that are mine are my OC's. 
> 
> Other little things that are important to know:
> 
> This is an AU, obviously, but I am going to try my best to keep the characters in character.
> 
> I will not be doing a lot of free time events in here other than a few I really love and the ones for my characters to better flesh them out. There are just too many choices for the free time events and I'm only one person. 
> 
> I have kept them reading Japanese even though the story is in English, but I have put personal names then family names like in English and mostly use personal names. 
> 
> I will be shipping OC's with Canon Characters.
> 
> The story here starts when they are leaving Jabberwock Park after discovering the timer.
> 
> I would love it if you all could review! Even bad review's are good, they help me know what I can work on as an author!
> 
> With that all out of the way, I hope you all enjoy the fic!

“Woah woah woah!” Monokuma hummed, showing up out of nowhere as everyone was about to leave Jabberwock Park, causing everyone to jump.

“M-Monokuma!” Hajime exclaimed.

“What do you want you want you insufferable bear?” Byakuya huffed.

“Insufferable? Jeez, you could hurt a guy’s feelings with words like that! And here I was trying to be nice and tell you something important.” Monokuma sighed, shaking his head.

“W-Why would we trust you?!” Kazuichi yelled out.

“Yes, you are our captor after all…Forcing us to stay on this island unless we murder one another.” Peko agreed. 

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but those two are gonna be awful confused~” 

“…Those two? Who are you talking about? We’re all here.” Nagito pointed out, looking thoughtful.

“Well, you were until they showed up! They should still be at the first beach where you arrived for now, but they could easily start exploring! And I’m only giving you chumps an hour to find them and introduce yourselves before I let them know about the killing game!” Monokuma chuckled, then pulling out his claws, “And you know what they say; it’s a lot easier to kill someone if you don’t know ‘em and they don’t know you! Anyways, Toodleoo! ~” And with that, Monokuma was gone again. 

**‘Them…? First beach…?’** Hajime thought as he looked around at the other shocked faces. 

“…Well, I suppose we should start heading to the beach, correct?” Sonia stated.

“What? What if it’s a trap?!” Mahiru scolded, crossing her arms.

“What if it’s not?” Byakuya interfered, everyone looking to him, “If there really are two new people on this island for some reason, that we know nothing about, Monokuma is unfortunately correct: Not meeting them would be very dangerous for all of us, and for them.” 

“That’s right…If we decided not to go as a group, a killer could sneak off and find them on their own and kill the both of them, or get killed by them.” Nagito agreed.

“W-Would any of us really do that…?” Mikan worried, trembling slightly. 

“It’s best not to take the chance. And even if it is a trap, I promise you as your leader I will do my very best to get us all out of it.” Byakuya swore. 

“Wow, Ham Hands is really on the ball.” Hiyoko joked with a laugh. 

“Well, what are we waiting around here for?~ Let’s gooooo!~” Ibuki cheered, running off, Akane following close by. With that, it was hard for anyone else to argue the situation and they all followed their and Byakuya’s lead. 

* * *

It wasn’t long til they arrived at the beach, everyone looking around for the two they were supposed to find.  


“Like, Ibuki’s not seeing anyone!” Ibuki huffed.  


“Yeah, do you think that bear was lyin’ to us?” Akane wondered, crossing her arms.  


“Well, if he was, what would be his motive?” Nagito questioned.  


“To lure us into a trap of course!” Kazuichi exclaimed.  


“Unlikely. If this was a trap, then it probably would have already been sprung.” Byakuya puzzled, looking around still, “More likely, as we made our way over here, they ended up departing to explore and understand their surroundings.” Hajime looked at his watch.  


“We have about 45 minutes to find them before Monokuma tells them what’s going on.” Hajime muttered.  


“Well then, I think it’s best that we split up and look for them.” Sonia declared.  


“Don’t you think that would be the worst idea?” Chiaki replied.  


“What do you mean?” Hajime wondered.  


“Well, if we don’t find them before the time limit is up, then we’re all spread out and it would be easier for them to start taking us down if they felt inclined to do so.” Chiaki thought aloud, “Especially since we know nothing about what they’re capable of.”  


“You’re right…But we won’t find them quick enough in such a big group of sixteen people…” Nagito muttered thoughtfully.  


“Well, it’s not like there are a lot of options for where they could go, right?” Kazuichi muttered, “It’s not like we need to split up into super small groups…Just enough to search Jabberwock Park, the hotel area, corral, airport, and the supermarket.”  


“That would be enough for four groups of three with one group of four.” Mahiru agreed, crossing her arms, “If the groups are lined up right, we should be able to handle it if we run into any unexpected problems.”  


“As much as I hate to admit it, splitting up is probably the best option. Alright then, Teruteru, Kazuichi, and Peko will search the airport.” Byakuya assigned.  


“Understood.” Peko agreed.  


“Ooh, some alone time with Ms. Peko~” Teruteru hummed.  


“Hey, don’t go forgetting about me!” Kazuichi huffed, the three going off towards their destination.  


“Mikan, Hiyoko, and I will check the supermarket.” Byakuya reported.  


“Aw, stuck with Ham Hands and Pig barf.” Hiyoko pouted.  


“W-why would you say th-that?!” Mikan stuttered.  


“Mahiru, Sonia, and Akane will search the corral.”  


“Alright, sounds fun!~” Akane chuckled.  


“I’ll do it, I guess…” Mahiru muttered.  


“I will do my very best!” Sonia cheered, those three leaving towards the Corral, Sonia and Mahiru running after a pumped up Akane.  


“Gundham, Ibuki, and Nekomaru can search Jabberwock Park.”  


“Ah yes, the park…I’m sure my Four Dark Devas of Destruction will easily sniff out anything or anyone hiding there.” Gundham stated with a smirk.  


“Ibuki is totally on it! No tree will be left unchecked!” Ibuki chuckled.  


“Alright! Let’s do it!” Nekomaru agreed, pumped up as the three of them left.  


“That leaves Nagito, Hajime, Chiaki, and Fuyuhiko to search the hotel. I’m assigning the four of you because the Hotel area is a larger space.”  


“Alright, I’ll help however I can.” Nagito smiled happily.  


“It’ll be important to find them quickly, hiding games can often be tricky.” Chiaki muttered.  


“I’m just gonna go back to my cottage anyways, I guess I’ll take a brief glance on my way.” Fuyuhiko sighed.  


“Let’s go then.” Hajime agreed, the four setting off as Byakuya, Hiyoko, and Mikan left for their destination.  


* * *

When they arrived, Fuyuhiko-true to his word-began immediately walking towards his cottage, in no rush at all.  


“So, Hajime, where should we search first ya think?” Nagito wondered. Hajime shrugged.  


“I dunno…Why don’t you pick? You’re the Ultimate Lucky Student after all, maybe we’ll get lucky?” Hajime suggested. Nagito chuckled.  


“I guess that’s a safe bet. How about the restaurant then? Maybe they got hungry.” Nagito suggested.  


“That’s a fair guess, let’s go.” Chiaki agreed, all of them walking up the stairs. It seems Nagito’s luck was working just as well as ever, seeing as the second they walked in, Hajime’s eyes immediately fell upon a girl sitting at a table and reading a book while she ate. She was wearing thin sweatpants and a black hoodie with purple strings as well as purple inside of the hood. Her hair was short, and a dark reddish brown, as well as messy and all over the place. Her skin was pale, freckles all across her face as a pair of large black glasses sat in front of two green eyes. She hadn’t seemed to have notice them yet, the three just staring at her for a moment.  


“Hey, I think we found one!” Nagito hummed, the girl finally noticing at the voice, looking over and adjusting her glasses then smiling.  


“Oh, hi there! I’m glad someone else is here…I was getting a little worried we were the only ones on the island.” She greeted warmly.  


“We?” Hajime questioned.  


“Hey, Mizuki, there was no one in the ki-” Another voice greeted as they came in, then looking alarmed at the three new people in the room. She had long blond hair tied up into a pony tail, smaller gray glasses on her nose in front of blue eyes, a blue tank top dress, and brown boots.  


“Wha-? Hey who are you?! Are you why we’re here?!” The girl accused, glaring as the other, apparently Mizuki, stood up, setting her book down as she gave a small smile.  


“Calm down Bi-kun, I don’t think we should-”  


“Don’t say my name in front of them!!! They could be dangerous!”  


“Waaaaah! I’m sorry! You said my name so I thought it was okay!” Mizuki fretted, “A-At any rate, I don’t think they’re dangerous…They seem nice enough don’t they?”  


“You can’t know if someone is dangerous or not by just looking at them!”  


“H-Hey, everybody calm down!” Hajime plead, the two looking to him, “We’re not dangerous, I promise. We’re part of a group of students that got trapped here, same as you. I’m Hajime. Hajime Hinata.” Mizuki smiled, flashing a peace sign.  


“Nice to meet you Hajime! I’m Mizuki! Mizuki Tenjo!” She introduced. ‘Bi-kun’ frowned as Mizuki reached out a hand to shake.  


“You said ‘group’ right? How many people are here? How did you get trapped here? Who brought us here?” ‘Bi-kun’ demanded.  


“Oh come on Bi-kun, don’t overwhelm them…Introduce yourself first!”  


“Not until I get answers!”  


“Well, I can try to answer those for ya. There are currently sixteen people besides you here. We were brought here by a stuffed rabbit named Monomi from Hope’s Peak Academy, but a stuffed bear named Monokuma has taken over and is now the one keeping us trapped. As for how you two got here…I’d have to say something Monokuma did, considering he was the one who told us you two had arrived and to go look for you.” Nagito answered happily. Mizuki and ‘Bi-kun’ stared open mouthed at him.  


“...Who is this guy and what is he on?” ‘Bi-kun’ inquired.  


“Oh, sorry, I’m Nagito. Nagito Komaeda. Pleased to meet you!” Nagito greeted warmly.  


“And he’s not on anything. Unfortunately what Nagito has told you is the truth of what’s happening here…I also agree with the speculation that Monokuma is behind this.” Chiaki told them, “My name is Chiaki by the way. Chiaki Nanami.” It was at that moment that Monokuma popped up, making Hajime, Mizuki, and ‘Bi-kun’ jump.  


“Hey, hey! Don’t go throwing around accusations like that!” Monokuma told them, “I wasn’t the one to bring them here!”  


“Then…Was it Monomi?” Nagito questioned.  


“Could be, though I doubt it with the state she’s in now. I’ve usurped all her powers!~” Monokuma hummed.  


“But…How else could they have gotten here?” Hajime questioned.  


“Um, so everyone’s just cool with the fact that a talking stuffed animal is here?” Mizuki pointed out.  


“I’m not a stuffed animal! I’m Monokuma! Headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy!”  


“Who would make a teddy bear a headmaster…?” ‘Bi-kun’ muttered.  


“Watch it sister.”  


“Wait…Hope’s Peak Academy…?” Mizuki mumbled.  


“Yeah, remember I said we’re all from there.” Nagito replied with a smile.  


“I remember…Me and Bi-kun were about to walk in, but when we went through the door, we ended up falling through blackness…and I woke up on the beach.” Mizuki recalled.  


“You two are students of Hope’s Peak as well?” Chiaki stated.  


“Yup!~” Mizuki chirped happily.  


“Well, as nice as this all is, I’ve already told the others that you found them, so everyone needs to head towards Jabberwock Island to meet up and so I can tell these two the situation! Also, I want to give you all a bonus prize for finding these two before my time limit was up! Aren’t I generous?~ Attendance is mandatory!” Monokuma told them before he disappeared again.  


“…Looks like we should probably go…” Hajime sighed.  


“…We’re all listening to it?” ‘Bi-kun’ muttered.  


“Trust me, he’s dangerous…” Hajime replied, “Let’s just go, the others will be waiting.”  


“Come on Bi-kun, we won’t get anywhere just staying here anyways.” Mizuki replied, following the other three, a reluctant ‘Bi-kun’ following.  


* * *

It wasn’t long until they reached the park, everyone gathered up and waiting before Nagito, Mizuki, Chiaki, ‘Bi-kun’, and Hajime walked up.  


“About fuckin’ time you got here, I was around the same place as you guys and I was here a while ago.” Fuyuhiko griped.  


“Yes, but at any rate you found them right? The ones Monokuma was talking about?” Byakuya questioned. Mizuki smiled and hopped forward.  


“Hiya! I’m Mizuki! Mizuki Tenjo!” Mizuki hummed happily, extending her hand out with a smile. Byakuya looked shocked by her forwardness, going to shake her hand before ‘Bi-kun’ yanked her back.  


“Mizuki, we still don’t know anything about them!” ‘Bi-kun’ scolded. Mizuki pouted.  


“We know that they’re in the same situation as us-”  


“Supposedly.”  


“And they’re Hope’s Peak Academy students like us-”  


“SUPPOSEDLY.”  


“And that that weird bear thing is probably the reason we’re all here.”  


“Hey! I’m not a weird bear thing! I’m Monokuma!” Monokuma huffed, appearing from nowhere once more.  


“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” Kazuichi shouted, Fuyuhiko scoffing.  


“Get a grip why don’t ya…” He muttered.  


“Monokuma, what is the meaning of this?” Byakuya demanded.  


“I just wanted to facilitate everyone’s introductions! That’s all! Also, I wanted to give you all your bonus prize! But, introductions first! Everyone get in a nice little circle, and state your name and Ultimate Talent, Capiche?” Monokuma instructed, no one was happy about it, but didn’t want to see what Monokuma would do if they refused, all getting into a circle, “Let’s start with Byakuya, shall we?”  


“Tch, okay then, if you insist. As he says, I am Byakuya. Byakuya Togami. I am the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.” Byakuya stated.  


“Like, my name’s Ibuki! Ibuki Mioda! And I, am the Ultimate Musician!”  


“Mahiru. Mahiru Koizumi. I’m the ultimate photographer.”  


“Sonia, Sonia Nevermind. It is a pleasure to meet you! I am the Ultimate Princess.”  


“You already met me, but I’m Nagito. Nagito Komaeda. I’m known as the Ultimate Lucky Student, for whatever that’s worth, ha ha!”  


“O-oh, u-um, is it m-my turn….? AH! I’m s-sorry to k-keep you w-waiting, um, I-I’m Mikan…Mikan Tsumiki…A-and I’m the U-ultimate Nurse…S-so if you get h-hurt, j-just come my way.”  


“Who would ever want to go to a sack of Pig shit like you?”  


“WAAAAHHH!!! Why would you s-say that so suddenly?!”  


“Anyways, I’m Hiyoko. Hiyoko Saionji. I’m the Ultimate Traditional Dancer.”  


“Name’s Kazuichi Soda! But you can call me Kazuichi if you want. I’m the Ultimate Mechanic.”  


“And I, am Teruteru Hanamura! Technically, I’m the Ultimate Cook, but I love the title Ultimate Chef so much more, has more of a…big city taste to it. By the way, out of curiosity, you said your name was Mizuki earlier, correct…?” Teruteru inquired, looking thoughtful as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that's me!" Mizuki replied with a smile.

“Well, What’s your bust size?~” Mizuki looked at Teruteru shocked, as did 'Bi-kun', though everyone else looked less shocked and more disturbed.

“Wh-Wha?!?” Mizuki exclaimed.

“What are you thinking asking something like that out of nowhere?!?” ‘Bi-kun’ exclaimed, blushing flustered.  


“Well, normally it’s easy for me to tell, but that hoodie is so dark colored and baggy that I can’t tell what’s just cloth and what’s actually there…” Teruteru muttered thoughtfully, holding his chin.  


“W-Well I’m a double d-”  


“WHY WOULD YOU JUST TELL HIM THAT?!?”  


“H-he asked nicely…”  


“Anyways, um, if that’s over with…" Chiaki interrupted so they couldn't keep fighting, "I’m Chiaki. Chiaki Nanami. The Ultimate Gamer.”  


“My name’s Fuyuhiko. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu. I’m the Ultimate Yakuza.” Fuyuhiko grinned, expecting to see two girls like them shaking in their boots, but they honestly didn’t seem too impressed, Mizuki just smiling brightly at him before turning to hear the next introduction, and ‘Bi-kun’ gave him a look like: ‘I dare ya’ before turning her head as well.  


“I’m Akane Owari! Nice to meet ya! I’m the Ultimate Gymnast!”  


“My name is Peko Pekoyama. I am the Ultimate Swordswoman. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”  


“The name is Gundham Tanaka! Take heed to not forget it, lest darkness befall you all! I have a very high level of skill in Magical Beast keeping!” Gundham announced, both of the girls looking very confused.

“...um…”  


“H-He’s the Ultimate Breeder.” Hajime explained. Both girls raised an eyebrow, seeming even a tad flustered at the suggestion. “A-Ah, He deals with Animals!”  


“Oooooohhhh….” The girls sounded off in unison.  


“A-Anyways, I guess that just leaves me…You already know my name…Hajime Hinata…And, well…um…I don’t really remember my talent right now…This whole situation left me pretty out of it…” Hajime admitted. Mizuki gave a bright smile.  


“That’s okay! I guess that means it’s my turn!~” Mizuki smiled brightly, flashing a peace sign, “My name is Mizuki Tenjo, and I’m the Ultimate Author! I’m so glad to meet you all!” All eyes now turned to ‘Bi-kun’ who frowned, not really wanting to introduce herself but seeing Mizuki’s smiling face, giving in with a sigh.  


“My name is Biyuki Aishi.” She introduced, rubbing her arm.  


“Biyuki…? I’ve never heard that name before…” Hajime muttered.  


“My parents decided they wanted to create a new name for me…Something that sounded nice…So they combined ‘Bi’ for beautiful and ‘Yuki’ for snow…” Biyuki muttered, crossing her arms and closing her arms, “My parents are the 'creative type'...At any rate, my talent is labeled the Ultimate Artist.”  


“And I’m Monomi! The Ultimate Teacher!” Monomi announced as she appeared from nowhere, making almost everyone jump.  


“There’s TWO?!” Biyuki cried out alarmed.  


“Hey hey, don’t compare me to that bully Monokuma, please, I’m your friend!” Monomi plead.  


“No one asked for your introduction Monomi, such a dumb child you are…But your timing couldn’t be better! As a bonus, I’ve decided to give you…” Monokuma left then quickly came back in an odd outfit, “An early screening of my two person comedy show! I was gonna show you all later tonight, but since we’re here already, I’ll go ahead and give it now!”  


“Two person…? Who’s the second person?” Hajime questioned. It was only a second more before Monomi appeared wearing a pink colored dress with a flower.  


“Wha-wha-huh?! What am I wearing?!”  


“Your outfit for our show!”  


“Our show?! I wasn’t told about this!”  


“It’s okay, just do your best! Afterwards I will explain to the newbies the situation they’ve found themselves in, and as a little extra-cause I’m so nice-tell you all some neato facts about them!”  


“Neato facts?” Mizuki questioned, tilting her head, “Ah! You mean like the time I gave myself a gash with a tape dispenser?”  


**‘That’s not neat at all!’** Hajime thought alarmed.  


“No, no, more interesting stuff! That’s the real bonus here! But we’ll save that for after the routine! Come on Monomi, Let’s give them a good show!” Monokuma announced. In another moment, the two were on stage.  


“Goood evening everyone! I’m Monokuma!”  


“Um…and I-I’m Monomi…”  


“And together we’re the Monokumas!” The two said at once.  


“Well then, let’s get things moving. I will now exhibit my special mind reading technique!”  


“Eh? You have one?!”  


“Let’s try it out! I’m going to guess your favorite food. Let’s see… Your favorite food is…”  


“You can do it! Here’s a hint: I’m a rabbit!”  


“Ca…”  


“Go on!” Monomi encouraged.  


“…davers!”  


“What? I do not eat dead people!”  


“It’s your turn now, Monomi! Let’s hear your best killer joke!”  


“W…What are you talking about?! I…I’m no killer!”  


“Oh, you’ll be fine. It’s easy! You just have to know the secret to appeasing the God of Comedy…Speaking of, which do you think is better: draining your blood while you’re still alive, or waiting until after you die?”  


“Why such a cruel question?!” Monomi yelled.  


“The God of Comedy, Miracle Rorion, will grant you the lifeblood of comedy… in return for a large amount of your blood!”  


“That’s horrible! Why does the God of Comedy want blood?!”  


“Pretty please?!” Monokuma plead.  


“I will not be wooed by your sweet talk! I won’t let you have even a drop of my blood!” Monomi scolded, Monokuma laughing and shaking a paw.  


“Monomi gets angry very quickly, doesn’t she…? You bastards should be careful too. Monomi is dangerous when she’s angry…She’s like the tutorial boss in the first dungeon!” Monokuma warned.  


“That’s not menacing at all!”  


“Well, OK… but she’s definitely a bad girl. You see, just between you and me…Monomi… selfishly stole you guys’ memories!”  


“What t'heck!” Monomi exclaimed before looking more confused, “…I mean… huh?” Monokuma turned to his shocked audience, who weren’t sure whether to believe it or not.  


“Not one of you remembers how you arrived on this island, do you? That’s because Monomi took your memories away!”  


“W…What are you saying?!” Monomi shouted, obviously alarmed.  


“By the way, those memories she stole? They aren’t just some silly, clichéd stuff like the details of your arrival here, Oh no… She took away several years you all spent at Hope’s Peak Academy!”  


“…Howawa!?”  


“Siiiigh… It’s such a relief to get that out in the open! Memory loss is so old fashioned, after all…A cheap story would shamelessly leave that revelation hanging until the endgame! Can you imagine?! Fortunately, I’m not that cowardly.” Monokuma hummed happily.  


“S…Stop it, please!”  


“Upupupu. Surprised? You bastards aren’t actually freshmen! But you’ve all forgotten that, so you think you still are! Isn’t that just rotten?” Monokuma cooed eagerly, “And… it’s such a familiar plot device… Is this plagiarism?! It’s not even original!!”  


“Y…You really can’t do this!” Monomi told him, Monokuma looking annoyed before turning and punching her.  


“I won’t let you get away with this!” Monokuma growled.  


“Gyaaaaaaaa! That’s not what they mean by punch-line!” Monomi cried out as she was punched away roughly. Everyone was shocked into silence, all staring at them.  


“Wha…What are you talking about?” Nagito finally spoke up.  


“Hmm? Oh, did you enjoy the show? Or was my comedy too advanced for you all to understand?~” Monokuma teased.  


“Forget that, what were you saying about our memories?” Byakuya demanded.  


“Oh, the whole stealing your school memories part!~ Yup, comedy really does come from truth, doesn’t it?”  


“Um, Ibuki just started to go to Hope’s Peak yesterday. Then she was taken here! So, that can’t be right, right?” Ibuki chuckled.  


“That’s what you think because your memories after that point have been yoinked away from you by that despicable creature Monomi!” Monokuma replied.  


“Don’t call me such things! You’re the despicable one!” Monomi argued.  


“Th-That’s impossible! How could you even do something like that?!” Hajime argued.  


“I know, it seems impossible right? But Monomi did it all right. I wonder how your families are, with how many years it might have been already without you even knowing!~”  


“Don’t listen to him! He’s a big liar!”  


“Th-That’s right, I can’t believe that…I won’t…I don’t believe it.” Teruteru stuttered out.  


“I can prove it!~ The moment you stepped into the school, you all felt Dizzy, right?” Monokuma hummed, everyone looking shocked as they looked around at everyone to confirm the validity of the statement, “Well, that’s when your memories were taken!”  


“Th-That can’t be….” Mikan stuttered anxiously.  


“It is! But, since I’m such a generous guy, I could see it in my heart to give your memories to you!~”  


“Wha-wha?!?” Monomi exclaimed.  


“On one condition of course…~”  


“You don’t mean…?” Kazuichi fretted.  


“Of course! Kill kill kill! Kill one of your fellow classmates!”  


“K-Kill?!” Mizuki exclaimed. Monokuma tilted his head.  


“Oh yeah, you two don’t know yet. I forgot to tell you the rules! How irresponsible…Well, here are your School Handbooks to start out! They’re important of course, so don’t lose them!” Monokuma hummed, handing them to Biyuki and Mizuki, “Now, you are trapped on this island until you kill a fellow classmate and get away with it! After a killing occurs, a body discovery announcement will go off when three people first discover the body! Then an investigation period will occur, and after that a class trial will be held! After you all have a discussion and think you’ve weeded out the blackened among you, you will vote for the person you think did it! If you’re right, the blackened will receive punishment and the rest of you will go on living! If you’re wrong…Everyone besides the blackened will be punished and the blackened will get back their memories and be allowed to leave this island!” Mizuki trembled, clutching the handbook.  


“K-Killing each other…?” She muttered. Biyuki frowned, crossing her arms.  


“…That’s…insane…” Biyuki muttered.  


“Maybe, but that’s how it works!~” Monokuma told them, “Now, for that extra bonus prize I promised the rest of you, here is some information about your two newcomers! We’ll start with Mizuki, and start off easy! Though she’s the Ultimate Author, she was actually given the opportunity to become a different kind of Ultimate entirely based on another extreme skill of hers! Can you tell us what that talent is Mizuki?~” Mizuki was still trembling, Biyuki gritting her teeth.  


“Hey, she’s in no condition to answer your questions you messed up bear!” Biyuki growled.  


“I-I’ll be okay Biyuki…” Mizuki muttered, “I-It was Chemistry. I’m good at Chemistry.”  


“Ding ding ding! Corrrect! Mizuki was given the choice between being the Ultimate Author and the Ultimate Chemist!” Monokuma agreed, “This girl can balance a chemical reaction so quick it would make your head spin! But she decided to be the Ultimate Author instead. She has some other talents as well, though none of the rest of them are ‘Ultimate’ level, much like the rest of you obviously. Which brings me to the next portion of my info on Mizuki! Nicknames! Because of her talent with Chemistry and her other hobbies she has at least a moderate level of talent in, not everybody felt comfortable putting her in the box of ‘Ultimate Author’. So, she garnered an Ultimate Nickname! People liked to call her the ‘Ultimate Kindness’ for her tendency to help out others and try to be a sickeningly sweet individual!”  


“Ultimate Kindness?” Nagito questioned.  


“Sounds more like Ultimate Pushover to me…” Fuyuhiko muttered.  


“N-No one’s called me that in my life!” Mizuki argued, “True, I like to help, b-but there’s no way anyone would call me that!”  


“Silly Mizuki, not remembering anything about that huh?~ Well, how about a nickname you DO remember, ‘Virus’?” Monokuma taunted. Mizuki went pale as a ghost.  


“H-How do you know about that?!”  


“Doesn’t really matter, I just do! I only have one more piece of info for just Mizuki. Don’t go thinking she’s some perfect, wonderful child. She actually reaaally sucks at some things. Specifically, History and P.E.”  


“W-Why am I the only one being put out in the open here?!” Mizuki demanded, not comfortable with how much someone else was sharing about her all at once.  


“Oh, you’re right! We should bring Biyuki into this too, shouldn’t we? Let’s see, Biyuki had some pretty terrible scores of her own, and in some really important subjects! Which were they? Let’s just say you shouldn’t come to her with any Math or Science questions…” Biyuki blushed and looked away, Mizuki gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.  


“That’s enough Monokuma!” She yelled.  


“Oh? But I’m not done just yet! Biyuki has a nickname she wouldn’t really remember too, based on a certain way of acting she has! She’s our ‘Ultimate Yandere!’” Everyone turned to look at Biyuki, stiffening.  


"Ultimate...Yandere...?" Hajime questioned.  


"You do know what a Yandere is don't you Hajime?~" Monokuma teased, "It's used to describe someone who is sweet on the outside, but is secretly a psychotic murderer for the one they love! Super possessive. And Biyuki is the perfect example!"  


"Hey! She is not psychotic! She is sociopathic!" Mizuki chastised, "And she's not that possessive!"  


"...But you're not denying she's a Yandere though, right?" Kazuichi questioned, Mizuki jumping.  


"Well, um..."  


"You don't have to answer that Mizuki..." Biyuki muttered then turning to them all and giving her first bright smile, "Yup! I'm a Yandere! Though, I don't know if you could call me the Ultimate Yandere...no one has before either. Probably cause I haven't actually killed anyone."  


"You haven't?" Nagito questioned.  


"Hey! That's a good thing! Don't be so relaxed!" Kazuichi called.  


"Well, I've never had a reason to actually kill someone before...Don't have anyone that I'm worried about someone stealing. Not to say I've never hurt someone though!~"  


"DON'T SAY THAT SO RELAXED!!!" Kazuichi freaked.  


"Oh! That brings me to my last tidbit!" Monokuma chuckled, "Biyuki and Mizuki already know each other!"  


**'...We'd figured that out ourselves by now...but, actually hearing it...That they were the only two not strangers to each other, combined with their arrival together, made us all wary.'**  


"So?" Mizuki questioned, "That's not a big deal. I've known Bi-kun since middle school!~"  


"Like, how come you two know each other and the rest of us don't know each other?" Ibuki questioned.  


"She just told you, we went to middle school together. Those who don't listen deserve to be confused." Biyuki huffed.  


"Well, it is concerning of course, and puts you both at the top of the traitor list!" Monokuma accused. There was a flash.  


**'......Traitor...?'** Hajime thought.

"Oh, you didn't know? One of you is actually a lackey for Monomi!"  


“Wh-What the fuck are you talking about? What do you mean a traitor?” Fuyuhiko huffed.  


“He’s clearly lying to us.” Peko muttered, crossing her arms.  


“Nope! This is a 100% truth! If you don’t believe me though, you can just wait and see if the traitor kills you first!” Monokuma laughed, “After all, how can you know if there’s a traitor or not…If no one knows one another?” No one spoke up, no one having anything to say…Hajime glanced around, and some people looked sad and silent…some looked upset and wanting to say something…others looked a little scared…then his eyes fell upon Mizuki, her jaw clenched, fists shaking, looking like she was fighting not to scream something at him that she might regret.  


“That’s right. Remember kiddos, there’s always someone out there wanting to knock you down. You gotta knock them down first! It’s either kill or be killed, your choice! Victim or Blackened!” Monokuma gave a wave then left in the blink of an eye. For a moment, everyone was silent, Monokuma’s laughter ringing in their ears. Then, finally, someone spoke up.  


“Um… Is one of us really a traitor…? I-It isn’t me! I may look suspicious, but… I swear, it isn’t me!” Mikan fretted.  


“WHO IS IT?! TELL US RIGHT NOW! THE MORE YOU POSTPONE IT THE MORE YOU’LL REGRET IT!” Nekomaru yelled out.  


“Don’t scream dumb ass, it’s not like it’s hard to tell! Monokuma basically told us it was those two!” Fuyuhiko grumbled, pointing at Biyuki and Mizuki.  


“Y-Yeah! He said they should be at the top of the list!” Kazuichi agreed.  


“Would you kindly knock it off? There is probably no traitor among us…Why would there be? We shouldn’t even have this silly discussion.” Byakuya huffed, looking at them like they were idiots.  


“H…He’s right… I don’t believe any of it…Why should I believe it? There’s no evidence for any of it…” Teruteru agreed, combing his hair.  


“…Oy, Monomi. You can probably answer our questions.” Peko reasoned.  


“…Hoeh?!” Monomi exclaimed, shocked.  


“Are Monokuma’s words the truth? Our memory loss… and the traitor…?”Peko inquired. Mizuki looked to Monomi, the desperation for confirmation of the lies he spouted.  


“Um… You see…If you dwell too much on the past… you’ll lose sight of the future… So……Fix your eyes only on the future! L…Let’s all do our best to live on!!” Monomi fretted before disappearing.  


“Ah, she ran away!” Akane exclaimed.  


“Feh. Worthless rabbit.” Fuyuhiko muttered, crossing his arms, “Memory loss… traitors… that’s straight out of fairy tales. Don’t try to mess with me, retards!!”And with that, Fuyuhiko stormed off. Mizuki looked after him sadly, watching as everyone else began to disperse, soon only her, Biyuki, Hajime, Nagito, around. Hajime looked to Mizuki, whose head was hung down, trembling slightly, then to Biyuki, who looked really mad and concerned for Mizuki at the same time, teeth gritted as she looked off after where everyone went. Hajime went over, holding out a hand and cautiously putting it on Mizuki’s shoulder.  


“Are you okay…?” Hajime wondered.  


“I…I need to be alone.” She muttered, walking off holding herself. Biyuki frowned as she watched her walk off.  


“Those jerks…Making Mizuki so upset…” She growled, “I should break their legs!”  


“H-Hold on! That’s not a good solution!” Hajime worried.  


“I know…That doesn’t change that I should though.” Biyuki huffed, walking off on her own as well. Hajime frowned, Nagito walking up.  


“Well, you can’t really blame them. A lot of personal business just got aired for the both of them, and then they were accused of being traitors…” Nagito muttered.  


“Not to mention the fact the both of them only got here an hour or so ago and were told that in order to get off the island you have to kill someone, as well as the possibility that several years of their memories had been taken away.” Chiaki agreed.  


“I just hope they’re okay…” Hajime sighed, before going to interact with the others.  


* * *

It wasn’t long before the Monokuma announcement sounded, no one having seen Mizuki or Biyuki for the rest of the day. However, it seemed two new cottages had appeared while they were all away, labeled for the two of them, so they had to guess that was where they were.  


Hajime sat in his bed, worried about the two. While Biyuki had seemed standoffish at the beginning, he couldn’t blame her too much for that considering their situation, appearing out of nowhere like that, and she did genuinely seem to care for Mizuki…And Mizuki…She had seemed so friendly and eager to talk with and meet everyone. And so distressed when she had learned the truth of the island, and when Monokuma had picked on them like that…Why was he being so mean to them? He was cruel to all of them obviously, but for some reason he seemed to really want to create a divide between them all and Biyuki and Mizuki…Could one of them really be a traitor…? Well, one thing was sure. If Monokuma wanted to separate them, he had to do his best to stop whatever Monokuma was trying!  


But…All that could be done in the morning. For now, it would be best to go to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are enjoying the story! Again, I love reviews and I hope to get a lot, please! Good or bad, Good ones make me smile and give me a reason to keep going, Bad help me improve as an author! Still don't own Danganronpa either!

The next morning, when Hajime awoke, he decided to meet at the Restaurant as Byakuya had suggested the other day. No doubt the others would be there as well…Though, he wasn’t sure if Mizuki or Biyuki would be there…They had gone back to their Cottages and wouldn’t come out for anyone after all…But, he supposed he had to go and see what was going on anyways. He saw a few people on the way to the restaurant, but went up ultimately. When he got to the restaurant, there were already several people there, including Nekomaru, Teruteru, and Sonia. But… no one said a word. One by one everyone else entered, until…

“…Is everyone here?” Byakuya questioned. 

“…Huh? I think Fuyuhiko is still missing…” Chiaki mentioned, “As well as Mizuki and Biyuki.” 

“Uh-oh! I guess they’ve already been killed…Or one of them’s a killer!” Hiyoko chuckled. 

“Gyaa?! Someone finally died?!” Ibuki exclaimed. 

“You should not jump to conclusions like this… I just saw Fuyuhiko outside. He is not dead…However, he told me he is not coming to breakfast.” Peko told them, “However, I do not think that Mizuki or Biyuki have left their cottages since Monokuma’s stunt yesterday.” 

“Ugh, now’s not the time for that lone-wolf act of his…” Mahiru muttered, “As for those other two, what do they think they’re going to accomplish by holding themselves up like this?” 

“M…Maybe… they’re spendin’ their time schemin’ up ways to kill someone…” Kazuichi suggested. 

“Kazuichi! To so readily suspect a friend is most uncouth!” Sonia scolded. 

“But the guy’s a gangster, ain’ he? You understand what that word means, right?! Ja-pa-nese Ya-ku-za!” Kazuichi spelled out, “Not to mention that Biyuki chick and her yandere ways, telling us she’s hurt people before but not killed anyone YET…Jeez…And besides all that, either one of those two could easily be a traitor!” 

“That’s unlikely at BEST.” Byakuya muttered as he ate, “I suspect Fuyuhiko won’t come even if we call him. That’s just the kind of man he is…as for the other two, it’s not like we can blame them too much not for coming. They had locked themselves away by the time I suggested the meeting, and after yesterday’s incidents, I doubt they would come out for any of u-” 

“E-Excuse me?” 

Everyone turned to see Mizuki standing at the top of the stairs, looking really nervous. 

“Ah, so you did come after all…” Byakuya muttered, “You have excellent timing.” 

“Oh, um, I was just kinda hoping everyone would be up for breakfast…” Mizuki muttered, rubbing the back of her neck and looking away. Hajime looked at her closely. It was obvious there was something she wanted to say, and she looked as though she was very tired, bags under her eyes. She finally seemed to take a deep breath and look at everyone, standing straight. 

“I-I thought a lot last night, about everything Monokuma said…I still don’t understand some of the things he was talking about, but…I know he was doing his best to paint me and Bi-kun in negative lights. Separate us from you even more than we already would have been…So, if it’s alright…I’d like to revive my introduction, to tell you my side of the story.” Mizuki told them sincerely. Some of them looked wary, but Byakuya nodded. 

“It’s not like we have anything to lose. Go on then.” Byakuya muttered. Mizuki smiled and bowed. 

“Thank you.” She told him before going upright again, “My name is Mizuki Tenjo. You could also call me Mizu-kun if you like. As Monokuma said, I was in fact offered a choice on what to enroll under as my Ultimate talent…I enjoy chemistry, but…I love to write. It makes me happy. I’m not the best at speaking after all…I had to say up all night just to work out how I was going to put all this…but writing comes easy, words flow from my pen and fingers so much better than they ever flow from my lips without me thinking so much in advance…So, even though I was warned they were scouting another writing student for the next year, I didn’t want to shy away from what I love. As for the Ultimate nickname…I really have no idea what he’s talking about. I mean, I do love to help! Making people smile makes me happy! I don’t think that’s something to be ashamed of at all…” 

“I really do suck at History, actually all of the Social Studies, and P.E. as well…But not just that. I really suck at names, dates, and places in general. I’ll probably get lost a lot on this island and I already can’t remember most of your names, even though you all seem to have them memorized already…But I want to try remembering, and knowing all of you! I also have asthma, poor knees, and a bad back…so obviously that’s why P.E. wasn’t my strong suit, especially compared with my clumsiness and issues with hand-eye coordination…And although I know Monokuma didn’t mention it, I do want to let you know I have ADHD, so I’m sorry if I become suddenly distracted, or I forget what I’m talking about while I’m talking sometimes…” Mizuki smiled, “If you want to ask questions, I want to answer! I really want us all to get along here!” 

“…You left something out.” Nagito noticed. 

“Huh? What?” Mizuki questioned, tilting her head. 

“You know what it is, right Hajime?” Nagito stated, turning to him. Hajime jumped at the sudden passing of the baton, thinking about the things she didn’t mention. 

“Are you…Talking about the fact that she and Biyuki know each other?” 

“Well, I guess that’s true, but it’s not what I’m talking about. I think that was covered well enough last night.” 

“Oh…Then…you must be talking about that other nickname, right?” Hajime started, Mizuki stiffening, “It was…Virus, right? You didn’t object when Monokuma said it. You just reacted oddly to it…” Mizuki messed with her hair. 

“…I…If you want me to explain it I will…But it isn’t something I like to talk about…” Mizuki muttered. 

“Who cares about that?! None of it proves you and Biyuki aren’t traitors!” Kazuichi announced, Mizuki flinched and visibly wilted under the words. 

“Wrong.” Byakuya simply replied, crossing his arms, “In fact, now that I think about it, Monokuma gave us the top reason why neither could possibly be last night.” 

“What are you talking about?! Everything Monokuma said was to make us suspect them!” Mahiru huffed. 

“Yes, that was his intent obviously. But he slipped up.” Byakuya stated, “Think about it. How many traitors did he say there were?” 

“…One.” Hajime replied. 

“And out of all of us, No one can say they know the other is for sure not a traitor, because no one knows each other, right?” Byakuya pointed out. 

“Of course, now get to the point!” Kazuichi demanded. 

“No…That’s wrong…Biyuki and Mizuki know each other!” Hajime replied. 

“Exactly. Very well apparently. So, if something was off with the other, they would immediately be able to tell. Honestly, they are the only one we can be sure AREN’T traitors, should you choose to believe one exists.” Byakuya determined, “There’s no need to torment them any further.” Mizuki smiled wide as her suspicions were cleared. 

“Hmm…I guess you’re right…Jeez, I’m sorry about that Mizuki…” Kazuichi muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“That’s alright!~ I totally forgive you!~” Mizuki hummed, giving a big hug out of nowhere that nearly knocked Kazuichi over. 

“H-Hey!” 

“Good morning Mizu-kun. Glad you’re in good spirits today.” They heard, turning slightly to see Biyuki, who smiled directly at Mizuki, then turned and gave each of them a look that could kill, frightening a good handful of the other students, “Do you have anything I could read this morning?~” Mizuki smiled, detaching from Kazuichi. 

“Sorry Bi-kun, I was up all night working out what I would say to everyone this morning!” Mizuki chirped. Biyuki frowned, glaring at them all once more, then turning back to Mizuki. 

“You shouldn’t have done that…You’re gonna be tired…” Biyuki muttered. 

“But I wanted to make sure I could get along with everyone! You should tell them your side of what Monokuma said too!” Mizuki insisted. Biyuki looked back at them one last time, her face turning deadly once more. 

“…I don’t have anything to say to them. They can think whatever they want.” Biyuki muttered, going to sit at another table before Mizuki caught her by her shoulder. 

“Bi-kun, don’t stay mad…They’re sorry for being so mean yesterday, and they don’t think we’re traitors anymore! In fact, that guy said that we were the only ones who 100% could not be traitors! So, let’s just forgive them and-” 

“I’M NOT GOING TO FORGIVE THEM MIZUKI.” Biyuki said forcefully, making Mizuki’s eyes widen and her step back, Biyuki sighing and taking a breath to calm herself, “…They made you cry, and lose valuable sleep over things you couldn’t control. I won’t forgive it…I can’t forgive it.” She gave another glare to the rest of them, and this time probably twice the people withered from it, not from fear, but from guilt. 

“…But I’m fine now, aren’t I?” Mizuki replied simply, “And…Biyuki…I don’t want you to keep fighting with everyone…I want us to all work together. It doesn’t matter if I felt bad for a while. Focusing on something that insignificant in a situation like this is simply ridiculous and you know it…Bi-kun…I want you to forgive them, and tell them your side of the story!” Biyuki softened slightly at Mizuki’s words, looking to them before sighing. 

“…I won’t hurt them if that’s what you’re worried about, you’re too worked up over all of this…and…I guess I can forgive them…after breakfast…but as for telling my side of the story, I refuse to dignify that stupid bear’s antics with a response.” Biyuki muttered, crossing her arms. Mizuki was quiet for a moment then turned. 

“If you won’t tell them, then I will!” Mizuki stated, Biyuki’s eyes going wide as she reached out. 

“Wait, n-!” 

“Biyuki is an amazing artist! I can’t even draw close to what she can! And she’s super nice once you really get to know her, she draws things for me when I ask so I can have a good reference for my stories! I’ve never heard anyone call her the Ultimate Yandere, but she is a yandere. She usually only really gets that way over me though, and maybe a few of our other old friends. But it’s not so bad because she knows I would never ever ever abandon Bi-kun! So she’s not as worried about people stealing me away as she is people hurting me or my feelings. She can really overreact sometimes, but I know it’s just cause she really cares about me, and it hurts her to see me upset! I feel the same way when she’s upset too…Though I don’t go for the aggressive approach she uses. Bi-kun isn’t very good at Math and Science stuff, it’s true, but that’s totally okay cause I’m super good at it and I can help her out! And she’s super good at History stuff so she can help me out! Cause that’s what best friends do! They help each other! I know Biyuki can be kinda standoffish, and she doesn’t really like to talk to people, but she’s the best friend I’ve ever had and trust me she’s super awesome! And-and-and…” Mizuki seemed to be searching for other things to say, Biyuki standing shocked in the background, “And Bi-kun doesn’t like to be touched by anyone but me so please avoid physical contact! I’m sure that secretly, she really wants to be friends with all of you just as much as I do!” 

“Mizu-kun…” Biyuki muttered, blushing slightly before she huffed and looked away, crossing her arms, “…Fine, I forgive them…” Mizuki smiled brightly. 

“Cause I did such an awesome job?~” 

“No, because you’re such a nerd~” Biyuki teased, poking Mizuki’s nose, “And if I don’t you’re not gonna stop…” 

“Bi-kuuuuuuuun!!!” Mizuki pouted as Biyuki laughed, the others watching in confusion and such the interaction, before a laugh rang out, everyone, including Mizuki and Biyuki turning confused towards Nagito as he laughed happily. 

“…What’s so funny?” Biyuki wondered, crossing her arms with a frown. Nagito smiled, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. 

“I’m sorry…You just both look so happy together, and the way you act reminds me a lot of two sisters…It’s just nice.” Nagito explained with a smile, everyone else smiling slightly as well, some people even chuckling as Mizuki rubbed the back of her neck with a big smile. 

“What the fuck’s everyone laughing at?” Fuyuhiko muttered as he came in, everyone turning to them. 

“Fuyuhiko? I thought you weren’t coming to the breakfast meeting?” Hajime questioned. 

“I’m not, I was waiting for you all to leave so I could get something to eat, but you’ve been in here for fucking ever and I’m not waiting for you bastards to get out anymore.” Fuyuhiko huffed, walking over to a table. 

“Well aren’t you a ray of goddamn sunshine in the morning…” Mahiru muttered, Fuyuhiko turning. 

“The fuck did you just say?!” He demanded. Mizuki-sensing another tense situation so soon after they’d gotten out of the last one-ran over, getting in the middle of them. 

“L-Let’s calm down, no reason to f-“ 

“Don’t tell me what to do you fucking happy-go-lucky bitch!” Fuyuhiko growled, grabbing her arm and going to push her out of the way to get to Mahiru, Mizuki gasping as she was shoved before Biyuki reacted, pulling a large knife out of her boot and going to stab at Fuyuhiko, Mizuki just barely regaining her footing in time to grab her wrist and shout: 

“NO!” As she redirected the strike into the wall, Biyuki sinking her knife deep into it, Fuyuhiko stepping back and looking at the two of them wide eyed as Biyuki struggled to try and pull the knife out, Mizuki struggling to stop her. 

“What the hell…?” 

“MIZUKI I SWEAR TO GOD GET OUT OF MY WAY I’M GONNA CUT THIS LITTLE B-WORD!” 

“BI-KUN NO I’M OKAY, HE JUST SHOVED ME A LITTLE!” 

“HE CALLED YOU A B-WORD AND SHOVED YOU I’M GONNA DICE HIM UP!” 

“BI-KUN NO I’M FINE!” 

“Someone, help hold her back!” Byakuya demanded, others rushing to help but Mizuki trying to keep them off. 

“NO DON’T YOU REMEMBER WHAT I SAID EARLIER DON’T TOUCH HER IT’LL ONLY MAKE IT WORSE!” 

“Then what are we supposed to do?!” 

“LET ME HANDLE IT OKAY!” 

“HANDLE IT SHMANDLE IT I’M GONNA BLEED HIM DRY AND THEN PAINT A PICTURE WITH THE BLOOD!!!” 

Peko frowned and went to go for her own sword, ready to defend Fuyuhiko if it seemed Mizuki couldn’t handle it. Biyuki finally drew her knife out and went to get Fuyuhiko, Peko drawing her weapon but it seemed unnecessary as Mizuki stood resolute out in front of him, arms out wide as she fixed Biyuki with a serious look, Biyuki pausing. 

“Biyuki, Stop this right now! You aren’t gonna hurt him unless you want to hurt me first! Do you want to hurt me?!” Mizuki demanded. 

“…No…I don’t want to hurt you…” 

“Then put that knife back where it belongs!” Biyuki sighed and put the knife back, turning to glare at a still shocked Fuyuhiko for a moment. 

“You’re lucky she was here to stop me, don’t make the same mistake again.” She warned before storming out angrily. Mizuki sighed, shoulders drooping as she let her arms flop down. 

“…And we were having such a lovely time too…” Mizuki huffed, holding her elbows for a moment before giving a smile, “Well, least I know she’ll be back soon!~” 

“…How do you know that?” Hajime questioned. 

“Cause, she never got any breakfast. And there’s waffles and tons of butter here, she’s not gonna pass that up for long.” Mizuki chuckled, then turning to Fuyuhiko, looking concerned, “You okay? She didn’t nick ya did she? You weren’t here when I explained, but Bi-kun gets really protective over me…If you’re gonna do something like that, I would make sure she doesn’t find out…” 

“What the fuck are you talking about?! Is no one concerned with the fact she just tried to kill me?!” Fuyuhiko growled. 

“It is…rather concerning…But I don’t think it should be much of an issue if no one hurts Mizuki and I confiscate the knife.” Byakuya muttered, Mizuki’s eyes going wide. 

“No no no! You can’t do that!” Miyuki told him, “Bi-kun’s knife is very special to her! She gets all weird without it…” 

“Mizuki I swore that I would not allow anyone on this Island become a victim, and your friend-whether with protective intentions or not-just tried to stab Fuyuhiko. I cannot allow for her to perform such reckless actions again!” 

“…I understand…Even though I don’t think it’s a good idea…” Mizuki muttered, rubbing her arm, then turning to Fuyuhiko, “Hey, you’re okay right? Her knife didn’t get you did it? I did my best to make sure she didn’t, but I was pretty off balance when I grabbed her arm…” Fuyuhiko scoffed, crossing his arms. 

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not the first time someone’s come at me with a knife and I doubt it will be the last.” Fuyuhiko replied, “Just keep her the fuck away from me, and stay out of my way!” Fuyuhiko went to grab some breakfast from the table then. 

“Anyways, I might as well discuss that which I was wanting to now. If we wait for Biyuki to come back, Fuyuhiko might already be gone, so either way we’ll have a person missing…Mizuki can tell her about what we decided later.” 

“Discuss…? What are we going to discuss?” Hajime questioned. Byakuya smiled, crossing his arms. 

“You will be happy to hear I have decided to throw a party this evening.” The room was dead silent for a moment, everyone blinking in confusion. 

“A…A…A party?” Mikan stuttered out. 

“That’s right. A grand all-night party, all the way through the morning.” Byakuya pronounced. 

“An all-night course?!” Ibuki exclaimed. 

“I should warn you - absence is prohibited. This is a party with compulsory attendance.” Byakuya stated with authority. 

“Why would we be having a fucking party for now?!” Fuyuhiko huffed. 

“Ye-yeah… What’re we having a party for, at a time like this…?!” Kazuichi agreed confused. 

“This is the perfect time for a party.” Byakuya defended. 

“Are you sure…? I don’t see it… Is this really the time for a party? Or the place?” Mahiru questioned. 

“…Um, well…I think I’m in favor… I mean, we’re all naturally down right now…with what Monokuma said, and now the events of this morning…So, I think this is the perfect time to have an event where we can get to know each other better and deepen our friendship! Was that what you were thinking, Togami-kun? Is that why you suggested a party?” Nagito asked cheerfully. 

“…My reasons do not matter…In any case… It is necessary that we all be gathered at a single location tonight.” 

“…Those words bear the stench of concealed purpose… do they not?” Gundham pointed out. 

“This is already a done deal. We are having a party tonight!” Byakuya insisted. 

“B…But… Why does it have to be all night…?” Mikan inquired. 

“…If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have made it that way.” 

“I…I’m sorry! I’m sorry for being so pushy!” 

“Knowing when to switch oneself off and on is a key skill in life… And we could all use a distraction.” Nekomaru agreed. 

“Yeah, an all-night party sounds like sooo much fun!~ I can get to know you guys better and I never really get invited to these types of things, so I’m super happy to be included!” Mizuki cheerfully announced. 

“…Let’s do it!” Akane cheered. 

“Ah, if we are, indeed, doing this, how about you let me handle the food?” Teruteru told them. 

“Oh, can I help?!” Mizuki asked, bouncing eagerly. Teruteru looked slightly shocked. 

“You want to…Help…?” 

“Yeah! I love to cook!” 

“…Was this one of the so called other ‘talents’ that weren’t quite Ultimate level that Monokuma was talking about?” Teruteru inquired. 

“Heh, well I don’t know if it’s really a talent…I just love to cook for others, and myself too since I love to eat!~ I’m pretty good with a recipe and a good amount of herbs and such, but probably nothing compared to you…I wanna help though, I swear I won’t get in the way!” Mizuki promised. 

“I don’t know…What if your-ahem-friend comes in…?” 

“Oh no, I would shove her right back out!” 

“What, some kinda half-assed punishment for trying to stab me?” Fuyuhiko muttered, rolling his eyes. 

“No, I would never punish Bi-kun for something like that, especially since she didn’t actually get you. That’s just her nature after all, it can’t be helped. I wouldn’t want her to change who she is just for me…” Mizuki muttered, “I would shove her out of any kitchen regardless of the amount of violence she’s committed.” 

“…And why, may I ask, is that?” Byakuya inquired. 

“Bi-kun is dangerous in the kitchen, she’s the worst cook ever! She once set a kitchen on fire just from boiling Mac and Cheese…” Mizuki explained, then turning back to Teruteru, “Please! I won’t stay during the party, when that starts I’ll go out with everyone else, but I could help you prepare everything and cook beforehand! Chef’s need Sous-Chefs and cooks to tell what to do, right? I could be like that! I can help you with whatever you need!” 

“Whatever I need you say?~” Teruteru purred. 

“Don’t go saying stuff like that!” Nagito warned nervously. 

“Alright, you can help!” Teruteru announced. 

“Yay!~” Mizuki cheered happily, giving him a big hug which Teruteru did NOT shy away from. 

“Anyways…Where are we going to have it? Is this restaurant good enough?” Chiaki wondered, trying to change the subject. 

“No… This place is no good… We want a place that isn’t so accessible from outside…Somewhere we can keep Monokuma out of. A closed space.” Byakuya muttered. 

“…Closed space?” Chiaki questioned. 

“If the restaurant will not suffice then neither will the lobby. It, too, is… open.” Gundham commented. 

“Nor can we use someone’s cottage, then… This many of us would get cramped together in that small a space…” Sonia thought out. 

“Cramped together, eh? I guess a cottage it is! Ah, I sure am lucky…This is so much easier than dressing up as a woman and sneaking into the women-only car on the train…~” Teruteru hummed. 

“You are really somethin’ else…saying something like that out loud…‘There anything you don’t see as an opportunity for perversion?” Kazuichi inquired. 

“Hoh hoh… I may be a pervert, but I’m the lovable type of pervert that people just can’t bring themselves to hate!~” Teruteru replied with a smirk. 

“Yeah, your belief in yourself is just charming…” Kazuichi sighed. 

“How about we use the old lodge that’s off to the side of the hotel grounds?” Nagito suggested. 

“…That shabby lodge?” Chiaki questioned. 

“Well, if we clean it properly, I think we can get it in good condition. It certainly fits the closed space requirement. I’d even say it’s the only place that does.” Nagito mentioned. 

“But, didn’t Monomi forbid us to enter that lodge? She said something about a planned reconstruction.” Peko muttered, holding her chin. 

“I heard your entire conversation! I heard it with my own ears!! Heh heh! I am very proud of my ears! I’m a rabbit, you know!” Monomi boasted, as everyone looked to where she had suddenly appeared, starting to get used to it. 

“I see. So you have to depend on your ears. That is most certainly strange.” Byakuya commented. 

“Hoeh?!” Monomi exclaimed. 

“I mean, what are those surveillance cameras for? Are they for Monokuma’s exclusive use?” Byakuya questioned. Monomi was silent, head hanging as her exuberance seemed to be depleted. 

“Ah! She seems to have gotten depressed!” Ibuki commented. 

“Whatever… It seems our problem is solved, one way or another.” Byakuya sighed, “The old lodge… You came here to tell us about it, didn’t you?!” 

“Yep! If it means strengthening the bonds of your friendship, I will gladly lend you my assistance! And so, I hereby grant you permission to use the old lodge! I’m going to help too, so let’s enjoy a fun party together!” Monomi cheered. 

“Oh, that’s impossible! I mean, you’re so lame!” Hiyoko snickered, “You should probably stay away from mirrors. You might actually die if you saw what you look like right now.” Mizuki shrugged. 

“I dunno, I think she looks pretty cute…in a Frankenstein-y kinda way.” Mizuki commented, Monomi drooping again. 

“Such warm words of kindness… I think I’m gonna… cry…” Monomi muttered before disappearing again. 

“Um… So, are we settled on the old lodge?” Mahiru inquired, “If so, what are we going to do about the preparations? That building’s been abandoned - we’ll probably need to clean it up…” 

“This will be the first time I busy myself with hands-on activities such as cleaning! This is hella exciting!” Sonia excitedly chirped. 

“No, no, no! A princess shouldn’t get her hands dirty!” Kazuichi asserted. 

“That’s not fair, if she wants to clean it shouldn’t matter what her status is!” Mizuki shot back. 

“I don’t wanna clean!” Hiyoko huffed. 

“What’s that? We have no volunteers?” Nekomaru commented. 

“In that case, how about we draw lots?” Nagito suggested, “Actually, I, ah… I thought something like that might happen, so I prepared some in advance!” Hajime was quizzical as to why he would have forseen this or why he would have made up lots, but didn’t have time to question. 

“How about… cleaning duty goes to the person who pulls the chopstick with the red mark on it? That’s fair, isn’t it?” Nagito wondered. 

“Um, me and Teruteru don’t have to draw, right? Cause we’re gonna be doing a lot of cooking and stuff and doing that AND cleaning that place just doesn’t seem possible…” Mizuki commented. 

“I’m not drawing either, I don’t want to come to your dumbass party, and I won’t.” Fuyuhiko huffed, finished eating and getting up to leave, walking down the stairs. 

“Wha-?! He just said attendance is mandatory!” Akane huffed. 

“I suppose it can’t be helped really…It wouldn’t mean anything if we just dragged him off by force…” Byakuya sighed, “So long as everyone else shows up we should be alright.” 

“Anyways, let’s do this lot thing, huh? Might as well get it over with…” Akane stated. 

“It is decided! Let us entrust our fate… to fate itself!” Gundham exclaimed. 

“Whatever the result is, no hard feelings, right?” Mahiru stated with a smile. And with that, everyone present except for Teruteru and Mizuki took turns pulling chopsticks from Nagito’s hand. Then, finally, the result was revealed… 

“Huh? It’s me?!” Nagito commented, shocked. 

“Ha ha… So much for ‘Ultimate Lucky Student’…” Hajime teased. 

“Nah… we have to play the cards we’re dealt…So, leave the cleaning to me. I’m pretty good at it, actually!” Nagito cheerfully stated. 

“Ah, I thought you would be. From the moment I first saw you, I thought you’d make a great househusband.” Mahiru agreed, nodding. 

“…I’ll… take that as a compliment.” Nagito chuckled out nervously. 

“And remember, leave the cooking to me and Mizuki! Right! First, we have to procure the ingredients, and then start preparing the meal at the old lodge…I’ll show you the fabulousness that is Teruteru Hanamura! I’m going to prepare the world’s tastiest party feast for you tonight!” Teruteru announced. 

“And I get to help!~” Mizuki chirped happily, just feeling giddy to be considered and included, “I should probably go and inform Bi-kun about the party first!~ I’ll meet up with you at the market!” 

“Let us disperse for now. We will gather at the old lodge after Monokuma’s evening announcement.” Byakuya agreed, everyone slowly starting to leave as they finished eating, Mizuki and Teruteru being the first to go. When Hajime got back to his cottage, he realized he had some free time. It might be nice to go interact with some of the others…He thought about it and-even though he was more than a little scared-it would be good to try and talk to Biyuki a little…He’d rather be on her good side than her bad for one thing, and she hadn’t left the restaurant in the happiest mood. He went over and knocked on her cottage door. 

“Come in!” She called, Hajime opening the door and coming in to see her sprawled on her bed, drawing something in a sketchbook with numerous amounts of art materials scattered about her. She looked up and then looked to her drawing, finishing up one last thing before laying the Sketchbook down and standing and walking over. 

“Hajime…What do you want?” Biyuki wondered. 

“Well, I wanted to see if…You’re…” 

“Okay?” Biyuki wondered, raising an eyebrow, “Or coming to the party?” 

“Well, both, I guess…” 

“Yeah, I’m going, and I’m pretty much okay…Mizuki was right, stabbing him wouldn’t have been a good idea…” Biyuki sighed. 

“Oh? Why do you say that? I mean, aside from obvious reasons…” 

“Well, if I killed him right there you all would have seen it first of all, so the class trial wouldn’t exactly take long would it? Plus…I’ve come to terms with the fact I won’t be able to kill anyone while I’m here. Only injure at best…” 

“…Why do you say that…? Not that I want you to murder anyone, but I don’t really want you to injure anyone either…” 

“It’s simple: If I kill someone and get caught, I die and the rest of you live. Mizuki would have a fit…She might even try to attack that thing and get hurt, or try to vote it not me just to try and not kill me…And if I don’t get caught, everyone else dies…Including Mizuki…” Biyuki muttered, giving a sigh, “So, killing anyone is out of the question…Not with the way this bear’s rules work…I won’t put Mizuki in danger.” 

“I see…You two have a very deep bond, don’t you?” Hajime commented. Biyuki nodded. 

“Of course! Mizuki’s my best friend in the world! …I know Monokuma was probably lying with those nicknames and the memories thing, but I definitely think Mizuki deserves the title of Ultimate Kindness. She’s such a selfless person…one of the most generous people I know…She cares a lot about everyone, even if someone gets on her bad side, if they really need help, she wouldn’t refuse…If there’s anything she can do to help someone, she’ll do it…” 

**‘Bad side? Mizuki has one?’** Hajime couldn’t help but think as he listened to her. 

“That sounds like she’s a really good friend.” Hajime replied. 

“Not just a good friend, she’s a really good person…But the bad thing is there’s such a thing as too kind…People tend to take advantage of her without her even noticing it…I watch her be kind and generous and get snubbed and insulted in return a lot…That’s why I started to make sure people who do those things would stop~” Biyuki smiled, “Mizuki doesn’t deserve the way others treat her when she treats people so well…So, when Mizuki wants to ignore something because ‘responding to hate with more hate doesn’t solve anything’ or ‘it was just a little push’ or ‘It’s better to just ignore it and not cause trouble, it’s not that big of a deal after all…’ I avenge her.” 

“But…Mizuki doesn’t want that!” 

“I know…She’s just too kind to want me to do that…But that doesn’t change the fact that she deserves it.” Biyuki replied, resolute. 

**‘I don’t feel like I’m going to change her mind…’** Hajime thought to himself, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair, then considered giving her a gift, Thinking about what he had before handing over some Cinnamon Tea. Biyuki blinked then smiled, taking the tea. 

“Thank you.” She told him, sipping it gently, “Tea is my favorite besides Soda…” 

“Anyways, I guess I’ll see you tonight.” Hajime told her, Biyuki nodding. 

“See you.” She agreed. And with that, Hajime left to talk to some of the others. 

* * *

It wasn’t long before the Monokuma Announcement went off, telling them to all have ‘pleasant dreams’. 

“I guess it’s time to go to the old lodge…” Hajime walked to the lodge, greeting a few people on the way before walking in and seeing Byakuya standing there. Byakuya looked to him as he walked in. 

“You came…Well, then, hold out your arms and stand facing me.” Byakuya instructed. 

“Hold out my arms…? Why should I do that?” Hajime questioned, raising a brow. 

“I have to do a body check, of course.” 

“A b…body check?!” 

“As long as I am hosting this party, you should expect flawless security.” Byakuya crossed his arms, “I made you a promise, didn’t I? I shall not accept even a single victim…!” 

“Y…Yeah, got it…” Hajime reluctantly agreed. He held out his arms and stood facing forward as Byakuya thoroughly checked his body. 

“…It seems you are not carrying any dangerous items.” 

“O…Of course I’m not!” 

“…Very well. You may step inside.” Hajime was about to do as Byakuya suggested, when he noticed an odd item next to Byakuya’s feet. They looked like… 

“…Duralumin cases?” 

“I found them at the supermarket.” Byakuya responded, “I am using one of them to safely store any dangerous items I find. The other one…Well… it’s in case there’s trouble.” 

“…Trouble?” 

“…It shouldn’t worry you. The others are already gathered inside, in the main hall. Go join them.” Byakuya ordered before turning his back to him. 

**‘I know I was told to go straight to the main hall, but as long as I'm here, let’s see what else is around.’** Hajime thought as he decided to explore really quickly. He found an office, but that seemed rather boring…He saw the bathroom, unisex, but that didn’t really interest him either…He smelled something delicious and looked into the kitchen to see Teruteru immediately greet him. 

“And what might you be doing here in my castle? Don’t worry, dinner is right on schedule.” Teruteru assured him, “Or maybe… you also want to be cooked by me?~” 

“Huh? What the hell does that mean?” Hajime wondered, “Is Mizuki still here?” 

“Oh, that delicate flower?~ No, no, as she said she went to the main hall after the party was to start~ She really was quite the help today though, I have to admit she was very good at listening to instructions! Flitting about the kitchen this way and that as I instructed, I was able to make so much more delicious dishes thanks to her assistance~” Teruteru smirked, “Not to mention the lovely sight I was treated to!~” 

“…Huh?” 

“Mizuki became much too warm wearing that hoodie in this steaming kitchen, so she took it off~ And underneath, her t-shirt seemed rather…Tight~ She noticed me looking and then apologized~” 

“…Apologized?” 

“For not wearing a bra~” Teruteru’s nose was bleeding by now, “She told me she usually doesn’t, but usually she wears baggy dark t-shirts instead of the tight lighter purple one she was wearing~ I got to watch her bounce all around the kitchen~ And she didn’t even mind that I was watching them!~ Truly, she is a kindred spirit~ She brought the flames of my passion up to the greatest, so you can be sure this meal will be one full of passion!” 

**‘…I’m having second thoughts about eating the food…’** Hajime thought. 

“At any rate, you should head along to the Main hall, I have more food to bring in~” Teruteru told him. Hajime nodded, going to leave. He noticed a supply closet offhandedly, but didn’t think it was really worth looking in, deciding just to go on to the main hall. The place was still kind of a wreck, but Nagito had obviously put some work into it, lights strung up and tables out with cloth over them…carpet laid out, some decorations…Nagito smiled when he saw him come in. 

“Oh, Hajime! So, what do you think?” Nagito asked. 

“What do I think about what?” 

“About the way I decorated this hall for the party, of course! I even spread out a carpet.” 

“…You brought in this carpet?” 

“Yeah, I got it at the supermarket…I wanted to cover the entire floor, but the carpet wasn’t large enough…This entire place was full of dust and cobwebs when I got here this morning, you know? It took me the entire day just to clean this hall.” 

“That’s quite a feat, Nagito…” 

“…Yeah. Thank you.” Nagito told him, then turning back to the others. Hajime considered going to talk to Akane, but she seemed pretty focused on the food that was set out, drooling wildly, deciding to go talk to Mahiru first. 

“I hate to say this after Nagito did his best to clean the place, but true to its name, this old lodge is in tatters. There’s a limit to how much you can clean a place up…Look at the floor over here, for example.” Mahiru pointed out, looking over to the bits of wood on the edge as Hajime followed her gaze. “See how the wood is rotten and has shrunk down? There are so many gaps it’s dangerous to walk on, don’t you think?” 

“It sure is…” Hajime agreed, frowning slightly. 

"Well, I guess since most of the floor is covered with a carpet, it’s not really a problem…Maybe we should warn Mikan-chan to be extra careful, though.” Mahiru nervously thought. 

“She is the type of person who falls down even when there’s nothing there…” Hajime agreed. 

“Byakuya said something about a body check and touched me all over! That’s sexual harassment!” Hiyoko whined, causing Hajime to look over. 

“I…I don’t think so… He did the same thing to the guys.” Hajime commented. 

“Did he? I get the feeling he was extra sticky when he did me.” 

“Eh…?” 

“Kyahaha! There’s a big demand for someone who looks like me, you know.” 

“You’re… joking, right?” Hiyoko smirked and shrugged, but before Hajime could question any further, he was surprised by an attack hug from the back. 

“Hajime!~” Mizuki chirped happily, Hajime stumbling and looking at her. 

“What the-?! Mizuki?!” He replied startled. 

“Yup!~ I’m just so super extra happy that everyone’s having so much fun!~ I can’t wait until everyone’s here!~” Mizuki eagerly chittered, finally letting go of Hajime as she bounced up and down in excitement. Hajime chuckled as he watched her, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“You sure are excited…” 

“Of course I am!~ I told you all didn’t I? I don’t usually get invited to parties…So…It means a lot to me that Byakuya is throwing one for everyone here!” Mizuki replied with a bright, warm smile, “And I got to help!~ Teruteru is amazing at cooking, and plus, since I was helping, I got to taste some while we were cooking~ It was soooo nummy!~” Hajime chuckled nervously at Teruteru’s name being mentioned, the conversation in the Restaurant still fresh in his mind, trying to think of a way to change the subject before he noticed a gloomy looking Biyuki sitting at a table. 

“…Biyuki? Is something wrong?” He wondered. Biyuki sighed. 

“Stupid Byakuya took my favorite knife…He says he’s not gonna give it back either...It’s my favorite!” Biyuki whined, “Not to mention feeling me all up and down like that to make sure I didn’t have anything else…I hate being touched!!!” Biyuki buried her head into her arms as Mizuki patted her back gently, Hajime rubbing his neck. 

**‘Well you did try to stab someone earlier…’** Hajime thought. 

“Well, he searched everyone and took away Kazuichi’s Wrench too from what I heard…He’s just being cautious.” Hajime comforted. 

“I know…I wouldn’t have let him have it if it weren’t for a good reason…doesn’t change the fact that I miss it…” Biyuki sighed. 

“It’s okay Biyuki, I’m sure if you’re really good and show you aren’t gonna stab anyone again, he’ll give it back to you!” 

“You and I both know I can’t make that promise…” Hajime decided to leave Mizuki to console her for now, looking around the room and noticing something very odd for the first time. 

“…Steel plates?” Hajime muttered thoughtfully, looking at the large steel plates on the wall, “Now that I think about it… there were some in the corridor as well…But, why are there steel plates attached to the wall?” 

“…A valiant effort… but short of the mark.” Gundham remarked. 

“…Eh?” 

“‘Star-destroyer Grey Fox’ Sun-D of the Four Dark Gods of Destructions has seen beyond the veil of the apparent…! Those steel plates are not attached to the wall. They are attached to the windows.” Gundham informed him. 

“…To the windows?” 

“Think, unobservant one. Was there a single open window in the corridor? Or were they all covered by steel plates?” 

“But… why? Why cover the windows at all?” 

“…O, Sun-D… Your fur is most certainly abuzz today…” Gundham stated, messing with one of his hamsters. 

“Hey, I asked if you know why the windows are covered…?” 

“…It has been… a long day. Countless souls born, and countless more lost…” Hajime gave up asking Gundham, figuring he had no idea either…But…The place was under construction, correct? It might be because of that… 

* * *

More people started to file in, one by one, all except for Fuyuhiko who-true to his word-decided not to come. Byakuya finally walked into the hall, talking to everyone with a loud voice. 

“…Sorry to have kept you waiting.” Byakuya apologized, “Teruteru is in the kitchen… And it seems Fuyuhiko is not coming after all, as he informed us.” 

“Aww…That’s sad…He must be lonely all by himself…” Mizuki muttered, looking way with a small frown. Biyuki crossed her arms and huffed. 

“Good riddance I say…” 

“Don’t be so mean Bi-kun.” 

“I am sorry. I attempted to get him to reconsider, but…It seemed he was unwilling to change his mind.” Peko apologized. 

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, Peko-chan. It’s his fault if he’s not coming…” Mahiru huffed, crossing her arms annoyed at Fuyuhiko’s behavior. 

“This party should’ve been compulsory participation, but…Whatever. If only one person is missing, it isn’t a problem…Nothing is going to happen to a single person, after all.” Byakuya muttered. 

“…That sounds ominous, does it not?” Peko commented. 

“More importantly– Hm?” Byakuya had started to say something, but had been distracted by something on the food table, suddenly seeming quite angry, “Oy, what is this?!” He hurried over to a large portion of skewered meat, “…This is dangerous!” He then proceeded to pick up two of the skewers and start to devour all the meat on them. 

“H…Hey! What are you doing?!” Hajime exclaimed. 

“That’s so unfair! He’s eating the food all by himself!” Akane accused. 

“I am not eating it…!” Byakuya defended. 

“Likely story ya pudgy-handsy-knife taker!” Biyuki huffed at him. 

“However you look at it, this is eating!” Mahiru countered. 

“I am telling you, that is not what I’m doing…! Take a good look at this food.” Byakuya instructed. 

“It looks like delicious grilled meat…” Nekomaru replied. 

“…And what is this delicious grilled meat attached to?” Byakuya questioned. 

“…Hm? They’re steel skewers.” Peko answered. 

“That’s right. These steel skewers are exceedingly dangerous. And therefore… as the person in charge I must confiscate them!” Byakuya told them. 

“…Then why not take the meat off and back on the plate then lock the skewers up?” Mizuki suggested. Byakuya froze as this suddenly occurred to him, finishing the last two bites of the skewers he was already on before doing as Mizuki suggested with the other two, keeping his look of superiority on his face as he did so, though Hajime could guess he was internally thoroughly embarrassed. 

“Ah, it seems everyone is here! In that case, let me bring in the main… um…” Teruteru started before he noticed Byakuya’s chewing and the taking of the skewers, “Hey!! You started eating already?” 

“Who made this food?” Byakuya countered with instead. 

“Um…Mizuki and I…did… Um, are you from the Gourmet Club?” Teruteru questioned. 

“What were you thinking? How could you use such a dangerous implement in your food…?” Byakuya scolded the two, Mizuki and Teruteru looking shocked at the accusation. 

“D…Dangerous…? This is Churrasco, a legendary South American skewered meat dish…See, it fits the tropical mood, so I thought it would be just right for our party.” Teruteru replied. 

“…The problem is the skewers, not the food.” 

“I still don’t get what’s so dangerous about them! So long as you eat from the side like you’re supposed to and you did, the pointy side can’t hurt you!” Mizuki huffed. 

“…It’s just a precaution, as skewers can tear through meat, should an…accident occur they could easily wound somebody.” Byakuya explained, adjusting his glasses as he locked the four skewers up in the duralumin case. 

“Eh?! So I can’t even use skewers?!” Teruteru exclaimed. 

“From this reaction, I am guessing there are other dangerous items you know about…” Byakuya sighed, turning and seeing Hajime, motioning for him to follow, “Oy, Hinata. Come with me. We have work to do.” 

“…W…Why me?!” Hajime wondered. 

“Heh… You were the first person he laid eyes on. Bad luck, mate…” Kazuichi chuckled. Hajime sighed, but followed Byakuya to the kitchen anyways. 

“Come on. We’re going to thoroughly search the kitchen for any other dangerous items.” Byakuya instructed as he went into the kitchen. Byakuya started to carefully go through the kitchen’s shelves as soon as he entered. “Take a look… I found something already. This shelf has forks and knives on it.” 

“…Don’t tell me. Even cutlery isn’t allowed?” Hajime questioned. 

“They’re sharp and pointy, and therefore dangerous. Disposable chopsticks should be enough for eating.” Byakuya replied with crossed arms as he stuffed every fork and knife into the Duralumin case. Mizuki-who had seemingly followed without them noticing and was peaking in-frowned. 

“Yeah, because fork and table knives are the most dangerous weapons on earth, right?” Mizuki muttered, crossing her arms. Byakuya flashed her a look and she turned bright red and decided to take her leave, skootching out slowly with a wide nervous smile on her face, hurrying back to the hall before Byakuya could chew her out. Hajime deciding to defuse Byakuya with conversation before he considered going after her. 

“Hey, is this really necessary?” Hajime wondered. Byakuya huffed slightly and continued with what he was doing. 

“…Of course it’s necessary. If it weren’t, we wouldn’t be here. I made a promise - there will be not a single victim. To fulfil that promise, the utmost caution is necessary…” Byakuya responded sincerely. 

“Is that… it?” Hajime questioned. 

“…What do you mean, ‘is that it’?” Byakuya countered, raising a brow. Hajime turned slightly, a bit nervous that the wrong words could send Byakuya off the handle. 

“Well, I just thought… maybe something happened…? I mean, you suddenly suggested we have a party. I can’t help but think there’s a reason for that…” 

“There isn’t… It’s just that… For a long time now, suspecting everything and everyone has been second nature to me.” 

“Suspecting…? Why?” 

“…Hrmph. I don’t particularly like to discuss my past, but…Fine. I shall tell you just a little.” Byakuya relented, “There are things in my past I can’t tell anyone about… They are the reason I became so prone to suspicion. There were people I couldn’t trust… and people who couldn’t trust me. My life was like a nightmare…It is only natural my personality would be affected. Nevertheless, I believe my nature is going to come in handy in our current situation.” Byakuya crossed his arms and looked away, “To survive in a situation like this… one must suspect everyone.” 

“…So, um… About that past of yours…” Hajime started, curious. 

“…Not yet.” Byakuya replied, looking to Hajime, “Someday, though… Someday I may be able to finally tell someone about it. If we manage to pass our days in peace, without anything happening, I may have no choice but to tell you…” 

“T…That sounds awfully significant.” Hajime muttered, Byakuya silent for a long time before saying: 

“Oy. Enough useless talk. We have work to do.” 

“R…Right, I’m on it…” The two looked around and it wasn’t long before they noticed the assortment of hanging kitchen knives, Byakuya reacting as he saw Hajime gathering them up. 

“These knives are outrageous! Far too dangerous! Especially if Biyuki gets one, I doubt I’ll be able to get her to hand over TWO knives in a row…Give them to me. I shall keep them safe.” Byakuya instructed, taking them before putting them inside the case with everything else. As Hajime continued looking, he noticed all of the food Teruteru had yet to bring in, amazed that there was even more with all of the food already out there. The one that he noticed the most of course was a humongous meat on the bone, bigger than his own head! He wondered how Teruteru thought they would eat all of this… 

“Least this food doesn’t seem to have any dangerous things inside of it, unlike that Churrasco before…” 

“Yeah, that’s good.” Hajime agreed. 

**‘Sigh… I almost thought he was going to say that bone could be used to bludgeon someone…’** Hajime thought before looking around and noticing a list of some sort. 

“Um… This paper…” Hajime stating, Byakuya walking over and having a look at it. 

“Hrm… This is an equipment list for this kitchen.” Byakuya noted, “Fork x 20. Knife x 20. Spoon x 20. Skewer x 5. Frying pan x 3. Wine glass x 20…In addition, there’s even a barbecue griddle and a portable stove for hot pots. A griddle and a portable stove… I found them on the shelf over there. They seem to be in excellent condition. Certainly very much usable.” Byakuya agreed as Teruteru came in to collect some more of his dishes to put out. 

“This kitchen is pretty good, isn’t it? It’s not even that much worse than the hotel restaurant.” Hajime pointed out. 

“Yeah, I was surprised…I thought Mizuki’s idea to look and see if there was a kitchen in here was rather silly, since even if there was one it would probably be in as much of a state of disrepair as the rest of the building, but to my surprise it was actually really usable.” Teruteru agreed. 

“But… this is strange. There is one number in this list that doesn’t fit.” Byakuya muttered. That’s when Teruteru looked over and noticed the mess Byakuya was making as he had taken the ‘dangerous items’, as well as all the missing cooking utensils. 

“Whaaaaaaat?! You’re making a mess of this whole kitchen! What is this?!” Teruteru demanded. 

“Don’t shout… you’re hurting my ears. I am simply confiscating every dangerous item.” Byakuya replied. 

“Ah! My chef’s knives! And all the tableware! Why? How come?!” 

“I just told you. I am confiscating every dangerous item.” 

“You aren’t saying… cooking utensils are dangerous?!” Teruteru exclaimed, then taking a sigh and calming himself down a bit, “Ah well… At least I’m nearly done with the cooking. I just need to get everything ready to serve… It’s not a big problem, but…B…But…!” Teruteru began to sniffle before hugging Hajime tight, “Waaaaaaaah! Hajimeeeeeee!” 

“N…No! S…Stop hugging me!” Hajime demanded, trying to squirm out of it. 

“Eh? You’re not predisposed to Boy’s Love, Hajime? My fantasies are a little shattered…” Hajime’s brows shot up and knit together at the feeling of surprise and concern, Luckily Byakuya speaking up. 

“Oy… There’s something I have to ask before you two go cuddle each other.” Byakuya huffed. 

“W-We’re not-!” 

“According to this list…” Byakuya interrupted, ignoring Hajime’s plea, “There is one steel skewer missing.” 

“Oh, that’s right… I believe it was missing since I first got here.” Teruteru replied thoughtfully, then smiling, “Well, things are in pretty good shape here, but this is still the old lodge. This was bound to happen, wasn’t it? I would have been more surprised if everything had been in perfect shape honestly…” Byakuya looked thoughtful for a moment, the room silent before Hajime decided to speak up. 

“If it wasn’t here in the first place… there’s nothing we can do about it, can we?” 

“…I suppose…You’re right… There doesn’t seem to be any place to hide such a long skewer, in any case. Very well… As long as I remain vigilant, we can let it rest.” Byakuya sighed. 

“Remain vigilant… you mean for the entire night?” Hajime questioned. 

“Let’s go back. The others must be waiting.” Byakuya stated without answering him, turning and starting to leave, “You too, Teruteru. Right now, we should all gather at the main hall.” 

“Sure…” Teruteru agreed. It wasn’t long until they’d returned, Mahiru the first to notice. 

“Ah, they’re finally back!” She informed everyone, the others turning to look. 

“Hey, let’s start already! I’m so hungry I can’t take it anymore!” Akane whined. 

“No… There is still one issue that requires our attention.” Byakuya denied. 

“Eh? There’s still something left?” Akane questioned, “Whatever it is, we can just beat it up!! I’ll do it myself, so just tell me what to hit!” 

“It’s not that kind of problem…” Byakuya sighed, “We need to keep this case with the dangerous items safe somewhere.” 

“Can’t we just leave it here?” Kazuichi suggested. 

“You’d think that would be okay because it’s under lock and key, but…I want to be extra careful tonight. We should find a safe place to store it.” Byakuya instructed. 

“Oh! I saw a storage room at the far end of the lodge.” Sonia told him. 

“Hmmm… No, we can’t possibly use that place. It is not nearly safe enough.” Byakuya denied. 

“Jeez, you don’t think you’ve been cautious enough already…?” Mizuki wondered, leaning on a table before getting another warning shot from Byakuya. 

“It’s good to be cautious.” He stated simply, but there was so much power behind the soft words that Mizuki still shrank back a bit. 

“In that case, let’s have someone guard it. That would make it safe, would it not?” Peko stated. 

“Eh? But, who’d want to do that?” Hiyoko questioned, “Stay all alone with that stupid thing when we’re having a party…” 

“…I would, of course.” Peko replied simply. 

“Eh… are you sure…? Um… We gladly accept your kind offer… or something…” Mikan stuttered out. 

“But, um, wouldn’t you get, like, lonely, all alone like that?” Ibuki wondered. 

“I do not mind. I have never been good with crowded places.” Peko replied, hands loosely on her elbows. 

“Ha ha… Ibuki’s gonna write a song about this! It’ll be called ‘One More Lonely Girl’!” 

“Are you sure Peko…? We wouldn’t want you to be excluded…” Mizuki stated, obviously concerned. 

“I assure you, I will be fine on my own. But, since all the food is here, do you mind if I take my share with me to the storage room?” Peko requested. 

“Of course not! Go right on ahead~” Teruteru responded. 

“However… if we’re going to have someone stand guard, there’s probably a better place to use than the storage room…” Nagito said. 

“Eh? Why?” Hajime inquired. 

“That storage room is all messy and there’s no light there. And there are cobwebs everywhere…I kinda had my hands full with this main hall, so I couldn’t give that storage its proper attention.” Nagito apologized. 

“Yeah, I guess it’s not the nicest place to sit in for a whole night… Or the healthiest.” Hajime agreed. 

“In that case… she can guard it at the office. The circuit breakers for the lodge are also in that room. We probably ought to guard those as well.” Byakuya pointed out. 

“Yeah, the office would be great. Happily, it isn’t that messy over there.” Nagito chirped. 

“…I understand. I shall go and guard the case at the office then.” Peko stated, grabbing the case and a plate of food, “I shall be going, then. Please enjoy yourself to the full, everyone.” Then she left the room without another word. 

“Ah, the pathos-filled image of Peko-chan walking into the distance is super-cool, huh?” Ibuki commented. 

“I just hope she’ll really be okay…I hate the thought of her having to miss out on all this fun just to guard that stupid case…” Mizuki sighed. 

“Hey, what about the other case? Shouldn’t she take that too?” Hiyoko mentioned. 

“This is…No, this one is fine over here.” Byakuya asserted. 

“That’s so unfair! How come you get to have your stuff with you?” Biyuki whined. 

“Because I didn’t try to stab someone this morning.” Byakuya shot back, “And besides, I have special privileges. I am special, after all.” 

“…Kinda says it all, don’t it?” Kazuichi muttered. 

“This case is not to leave my sight. After all, it holds the key to the other one. I shall take responsibility and guard it personally. I can’t trust anyone else with it.” Byakuya insisted. 

“M…More importantly… are we done with all those problems? Can we start the party already…?” Akane hoped, drool cascading from her mouth as she looked between everyone else and the food. 

“No, there is still something left.” Byakuya told her. 

“I’ll beat that one down too! Quickly, tell me what to hit!” Akane yelled. 

“We told you before, haven’t we? You can’t solve these problems with violence…” Hajime warned, trying to calm her down a touch. 

“Actually, she might be on to something. Someone has to keep him away, after all…” Byakuya muttered. 

“Eh? You don’t mean…?” Hajime questioned. 

“The one thing that could hinder this party. Monokuma.” 

“Yes! We get to eat after I take down Monokuma, right?!” Akane cheered. 

“Whoa, easy there… Picking a fight with Monokuma is only gonna stir up trouble we don’t need.” Nekomaru warned. 

“Are you saying I should just wait here until I starve to death?!” Akane growled. 

“No one’s gonna starve to death!” Mizuki replied with a soft smile, “I doubt Byakuya would take it that far…” 

“Hmm… Maybe there’s a cleverer solution than blindly starting a fight…” Byakuya thought aloud. 

“…Ah. In that case, I’ll do something.” Chiaki spoke up, for basically the first time since they’d started. 

“Do something…? You…?” Byakuya questioned. 

“Hey, hey… what can a little girl like you do? It’s too dangerous, isn’t it?” Kazuichi replied. 

“You shouldn’t judge people based on their height or gender.” Biyuki warned with a cold glare. 

“Besides, it isn’t dangerous. I am not going to do anything on my own.” Chiaki stated. 

“You’re not…?” Hajime wondered. 

“I see… you intend to employ Monomi, then?” Gundham questioned. 

“Yeah. I think I can cajole her with some flattery, and get her to help. Shouldn’t be hard.” Chiaki told them, “I’m sure she can probably help keep Monokuma in check… I think.” 

“Ah, that sounds like a good idea! She does seem pretty gullible, that rabbit!” Mahiru agreed. 

“Monomi and Monokuma do act like rivals, after all!” Ibuki chirped. 

“Well, just one of them always gets the upper hand, though.” Hiyoko snickered. 

“But…are you sure you’re going to be alright, Chiaki? It’s still dangerous, isn’t it?” Nagito worried. 

“Yeah, and you’ll miss out on the party too…” Mizuki sighed, shoulders drooping. 

“No, I’ll be fine. If I sense danger, I’ll immediately make a hasty retreat…And besides, as much fun as a party sounds, I can play some games while I’m watching out.” Chiaki replied. 

**‘That doesn’t sound good at all…!’** Hajime thought. 

“…I’ll be going, then.” Chiaki stated. 

“You don’t want to take any food with you Chiaki?” Mizuki questioned, still sad. 

“…I’m not all that hungry honestly, I forgot that there would be food and had dinner at the restaurant earlier…” Chiaki replied. 

“How could you forget I was cooking a special meal?!” Teruteru huffed, crossing his arms, “Nevertheless though, I understand food doesn’t taste nearly as good when you aren’t in the mood to eat…You’ll have to wait to taste my delicious food I suppose…” Chiaki gave a small nod and then left, Mizuki sighing sadly and everyone else quiet for a moment. 

“So, everything’s settled now, right? Can we just get to…?” Akane finally spoke up. 

“…Yes. We can begin now.” Byakuya allowed. 

“LET’S DO IT!!” Akane practically screamed, rushing towards the table. 

“Heh heh heh… At long last, this banquet begins…” Gundham muttered before smirking, “Fuahahaha! Let us dine!” So then, the party really kicked off. Though they still didn’t know exactly why they were having this party in the first place. 

“Can I eat now? Can I?” Akane questioned, already taking bites like she was unable to control herself. 

“…She says, face already full o’ food…” Kazuichi chuckled. 

“Ha ha… I can’t stop…Ha ha ha ha! There’s no way I’m stopping now!” Akane asserted. 

“Of course you can’t stop! You’re eating the World’s Tastiest party food! You’ll eat ‘til you’re full! Then you’ll eat ‘til you burst! Then you’ll eat some more!” Teruteru hummed, “That’s what my World’s Tastiest Food is all about!” 

“T…That’s a little scary…” Mikan stuttered. 

“…Why aren’t you eating? If you don’t I’m gonna finish everything by myself!” Akane warned. 

“I’m still bringing the food in, so don’t worry - there’s plenty more!” Teruteru assured. 

“Hey, everyone! Since we’re all here, should I take some pictures?” Mahiru asked. 

“Oh, how wonderful! Please do!” Sonia agreed, Mahiru smiling as she started to take the pictures. Ibuki gasped. 

“OMG you guys, I toootally just realized something super awesome! Ibuki, Mizuki, and Biyuki…ALL TOTALLY RHYME!” Ibuki exclaimed. 

**‘She only realized this now…?’** Hajime thought with a sigh. 

“We could totally be, like, a band! So long as you guys follow the Ultimate Musician you’ll have nothing to fear! We’ll be super popular! We could call ourselves…the ‘I-uki’s’!” Ibuki excitedly suggested. 

“…You know, um, you guys can actually all call me ‘Yanii’. That’s the name I used to enter Art contests and Gallery’s with after all…Also, it’s my username on most of my online stuff.” Biyuki replied, “In fact, I encourage you all to please call me Yanii from this point forward.” 

“Awww…” Ibuki whined. 

“It’s alright Ibuki, we wouldn’t have been much help in a band anyways…All I can do is sing a little and play a couple Zelda tunes and ‘The lion sleeps tonight’ on the Ocarina, and all Bi-kun has is a little flute skill under her belt.” Mizuki warned with a small chuckle. 

“Aww, well, I guess you and I can still be ‘I-uki’ buddies, right Mizuki?~” Ibuki chuckled. Mizuki chuckled with her. 

“Sure, I’d like that!~” 

“Hey, speaking of music, anyone got some tunes? It might spice this up a little bit!” Kazuichi suggested. 

“Sorry, Ibuki didn’t bring any of her instruments…” Ibuki apologized. 

“It’s okay Ibuki, we can just eat and such.” Sonia comforted. Hajime watched everyone with a smile, though he did notice Biyuki whisper something to Mizuki and then leave, but he was sure it was nothing to worry about as he turned back to talking with the others. 

**‘This is… a strange feeling…’** Hajime thought, **‘When we came to this island, I was angry at how much fun everyone seemed to be having…But now, I feel reassured. We really are comrades, fighting together… This solidarity sure is–’**

“Muuuuu…. muuuuuuu…!” Nekomaru whined. 

“…Hm? Nekomaru? What’s wrong?” Hajime questioned. 

“I…I’m sorry for doing this without warning…But I… I have to pop back to the hotel for a little while…!” Nekomaru stated. 

“Don’t be foolish… I shall not allow any such action.” Byakuya asserted. 

“Do not attempt to stop me, Byakuya… There are times where you have to let a man go where he must…! If I don’t go now… it is a mark of shame on me as a man.” Nekomaru muttered. 

“What are you talking about?” Mizuki wondered, concerned. 

“Shitting the pants… IS A MARK OF SHAME TO A MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!” Nekomaru yelled. 

“…You have to go to the toilet?!” Hajime questioned. 

“If you need to use the toilet, there is one right here at the lodge. Why is the hotel necessary?” Byakuya inquired. 

“D…Don’t think I didn’t try the nearest crapper first! But someone’s been using it for a while now!” Nekomaru argued. 

“W…What is the meaning of this…?!” Gundham shouted out of nowhere, attention turning to him. 

“…What are YOU in a fuss about?” Byakuya asked. 

“M…My 'Devildog Earring' is…It’s gone! Has it flown away into subspace?!” Gundham questioned panicked. 

“Don’t make a racket. You probably dropped it somewhere.” Byakuya told him. 

“SHIT!!! MY SHIT IS COMING OOOUT!!!” Nekomaru groaned. 

“Shut up and hold it!” Byakuya ordered. 

“Heeeey, ish it really okay if I ee’ erryfing?” Akane questioned with her mouth stuffed full. 

“D…Don’t be ridiculous! At least set something aside for me!” Byakuya insisted. 

“Hey, Byakuya! Everyone! I’m taking another picture! Say cheeeeeeese…!” Mahiru announced as she took a picture. 

“I don’t know if now’s really the time for that Mahiru…” Mizuki kindly mentioned, not wanting the tension to mount any higher. 

“For heaven’s sake, can’t you all act a little more responsibly…?” Byakuya grumbled before a sharp beep was heard through the hall, “…Hm? What was that sound just now?” And as soon as he said that, the lights completely went out. Everyone stayed completely silent for a moment. 

**‘Huh…? Why is it suddenly pitch-black…?’** Hajime thought. 

“Uwah, the power’s out!” 

“The hell happened?! I can’t see nothing!” 

“I…its too dark! Everything’s too dark!” 

“Waaaaah, What’s going on?! I-OW!!!” There was a clatter as someone bumped into something. 

“C…Calm down, everyone! We have to keep calm at a time like this!” 

“Waaah! Don’t step on my feet!” 

“Oy, what are you doing?!” 

“Stop it!!” 

“Ow!” 

“Turn on the lights! It’s hard to eat this way!” 

“Hey, everyone! Where are you? T…This power outage… it isn’t just in the kitchen?” 

“Why in the world would a power outage just be in the kitch-OW!” Another clatter and bang. 

“A-Are you hurt? I-I c-can try t-to make my w-way over and h-he-AAAH!” A thump and some more clattering were heard. 

“Alright, can everyone stop trying to move in this pitch black room?!” 

“Could someone perhaps have flipped the circuit breakers?” 

“W…Wait here! I’ll use the walls as a guide and go see if I can’t fix this…!” Everyone did their best to wait patiently, hearing the opening and closing of the door, waiting in the utter darkness, before suddenly lights came back on, everyone blinking the dots away from their eyes before they were treated to a shocking sight. 

“Ah…!” Hajime exclaimed. 

“T…That’s…!!” Sonia stuttered out. It was… Mikan Tsumiki’s messed up pose. The girl had somehow landed on her back with her hands together with Sausage links, her legs spread wide, and a plate of food over her crotch. 

“I…I’m sorry! I fell down again!” Mikan apologized, Mizuki wide-eyed as she looked over from her position on the floor, some knocked over food and such surrounding her as well, mouth wide open. 

“H…How the hell do you keep getting into these poses?!” Hajime wondered, averting his eyes. 

“KEEP?!? THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE?!” Mizuki exclaimed alarmed. 

“Yay! An indecent pose! This is clearly a fan service scene, isn’t it?~” Hiyoko chirped. Just then, Biyuki rushed back in. 

“Is everyone alr-? WOAH, WHAT KIND OF PARTY DID THIS TURN INTO WHILE I WAS GONE?!” Biyuki squeaked, covering her eyes as she blushed deeply. 

“H…Hiyaaaaaa… Don’t! Don’t look at me, pleaaaase!” Mikan begged. 

“Hyohyohyo, Ibuki can’t get enough of her!” Ibuki chuckled. 

“Why hasn’t anyone answered me about this happening before?!” Mizuki stuttered. 

“Mahiru-chan! This would make a great picture!” Ibuki suggested, ignoring Mizuki. 

“N…No way I’d take that kind of picture!” Mahiru objected. 

“Hyuu… Forgive me…! Forgive me, pleaaaaaase!” Mikan cried out. 

“E…Everyone… should we not help her, rather than standing here doing nothing?” Sonia suggested. Everyone quickly agreed, going over to help Mikan out of the predicament. 

“Hyuuu… Sniffle… U…Uuuuuu…” Mikan sobbed, “I…I’m sorry to be a constant disturbance…!” 

“Just… be more careful next time, okay?” Mahiru suggested. 

“Oh, look at that! The lights’re back on in here, too!” Kazuichi commented as he walked in. 

“You flipped the breakers back up, Kazuichi?! Good for you! You actually managed to be useful for once!” Hiyoko cheered. 

“Uh… well, actually… I had only just made it inside the office-that’s where the breaker is-when the lights came back on…” Kazuichi told them. 

“Eh? So, how come the power’s back on?” Mahiru wondered. 

“Search me…” Kazuichi replied. 

“Don’t say ‘search me’! Try being a little more helpful!” Mahiru scolded. 

“If Kazuichi doesn’t know he doesn’t know, he can’t help that!” Mizuki argued. 

“Yeah, I can’t help it if the lights came back on randomly!” Kazuichi replied. 

“…Huh?” Sonia questioned as she looked around, searching for something. 

“Is something wrong, Sonia?” Nagito questioned. 

“No…Well, yes actually, I suppose…It is just that I can’t see Byakuya anywhere. Did he go somewhere?” Sonia inquired. 

“…Eh? Byakuya?” Nagito considered. Everyone stopped and looked around the room, sure enough seeing no sign of Byakuya anywhere. 

“T…That’s strange… He was here when the power went out, wasn’t he?” Mahiru stuttered out. 

“He definitely was, I remember him telling everyone how immature they were being…” Mizuki muttered, “In fact, I think he was the last one to say anything before the lights went out…” 

“Huh? Did he go somewhere… while the lights were out?” Ibuki questioned. 

“But, it was completely dark…” Hajime stated. 

“I’m… a little worried. Let’s split up and search for him, for the time being.” Nagito suggested, “I’ll go look in the storage room. Hajime, how about you handle the entrance?” 

“R…Right, I’m on it…” Hajime agreed. 

“So… I’ll go check the office. Y’know, since I can actually find the place this time.” Kazuichi told them. 

“I shall go look around the corridor, then.” Sonia volunteered. 

“I’m gon’ wai’ ‘ere. I’m shtill ee’ing, you shee…” Akane mumbled through her food. 

“Leave the toilet… to me…I WILL CHECK THE TOILET LIKE A MAN DOES!!” Nekomaru rushed off after finishing that sentence. 

**‘Like a man does…? I… don’t want to know.’** Hajime decided. 

“Oh, Mr. Porkfeet… He must’ve run away like a scaredy-pig the moment the lights went out…What a useless leader. When we find him, I’m gonna pinch him on the forehead.” Hiyoko chuckled. 

“I’m sure he didn’t just run off…That doesn’t seem like him…” Mizuki muttered, seeming worried herself. Hajime thought about it for a moment before deciding to go search near the entrance, where Chiaki was. Though, on the way, he saw Nekomaru standing in the hall. 

“Nuuuuuu…” He groaned. 

“W…What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be checking the toilet?” Hajime inquired. 

“S…Someone is using it…Someone’s been using it ever since the party started…” Nekomaru whined out, “YOU FIEND! KEEPING THE CRAPPER TO YOURSELF IS EXTREMELY INCONSIDERATE!” 

“Someone’s been using the toilet… since the party started?” Hajime questioned confused. 

“That’s what it seems like… Every time I came here someone’s been inside…” Nekomaru confirmed, “THAT’S IT! SHIT!! SHIT’S COMING OUT!! Guwaaaaaah! The more I hold it the more it keeps piling up!” 

“J…Just hold it…! I know you can do it…!” Hajime encouraged. 

**‘But still… who could be using the toilet for such a long time?’ He wondered, ‘If it’s been since the start of the party, it can’t be Byakuya, right?’** Hajime put it aside for the time being, heading towards the entrance again to check it out. There he saw Chiaki and Monomi standing in front of the entrance. They must be on the lookout for Monokuma… 

“Huh? Hajime… why aren’t you at the party?” Chiaki questioned, tilting her head. 

“Howawa! It isn’t over already, is it?! I still didn’t get a chance to participate!” Monomi worried. 

“Hey, Chiaki… You haven’t seen Byakuya around here, have you?” 

“Byakuya? No, I haven’t seen him…But…why are you looking for Byakuya?” 

“There was a power outage inside the lodge… and when the lights came back on he was gone.” Hajime explained, “So…I thought I’d check if he decided to go outside or something.” 

“Sorry, no one came outside at all.” Chiaki told him. 

“…Maybe he’s in there and we keep missing him.” Hajime suggested. 

“…Maybe.” Hajime stood there for a while, but it seemed there was nothing else for any of them to say, and so I went back to report to the others. 

“Ah, Hajime! Well, how about it?” Nagito asked. 

“Did you find Byakuya?” Mizuki hoped. 

“I asked Chiaki, and she said he never came out of the lodge…” Hajime told them. 

“Jeez, this guy just becomes more of a pain by the second doesn’t he?” Biyuki grumbled. 

“T…That’s strange… There wasn’t anyone in the storage room either.” Nagito considered. 

“No one in the kitchen either, of course.” Teruteru told them. 

“Or at the office…” Kazuichi replied. 

“…There wasn’t? At the office?” Sonia inquired. 

“Huh? What about our Swordswoman? Wasn’t she supposed to be there, guarding?” Hiyoko questioned. 

“Yeah… Peko wasn’t there at all.” Kazuichi responding, then looking thoughtful, “Come to think of it, when I reached the office and the lights came on, she wasn’t in there either…” 

“…Eh? So Peko is also missing?” Mahiru questioned. 

“Perhaps… they took advantage of the darkness and they’re necking each other at the toilet…? Outrageous!” Teruteru exclaimed. 

“Don’t go assuming everyone is as perverted as you!” Biyuki scolded. 

“…Hm? Hmmmmm?” Akane paused, sniffing the air. 

“Akane, what is it?” Mizuki wondered. 

“Is something bothering you?” Sonia inquired. 

“No… but don’t you smell something…?” Akane muttered. 

“Um… the remains of undigested food in the small intestine are decomposed by intestinal microbes and turn into a gas…” Mikan started, “That gas is mostly absorbed in the intestinal tract, but the part that doesn’t is discharged through the anus. T…That’s the way farts work… So… farting is not embarrassing at all!” 

“No, that’s not it…” Akane dismissed, she took another sniff, everyone silent, “…What I smell… is blood.” The air turned stiff as everyone remained silent for another moment. 

“…Blood?!” Hajime questioned. 

“Hm… hm… hm…” Akane hummed as she sniffed, nose twitching this way and that as she followed the smell slightly then pointed to the table at the far end of the main hall, “It’s coming from over there. I’m sure of it…!” 

“Blood…? I can smell nothing, save for the sweet fragrance of the food…” Sonia mentioned. 

“H…Hey, how come you can sniff out blood in the first place…?!” Mahiru questioned. 

“Who cares, it’s pretty awesome!” Biyuki replied with a smile, “Like predators!” 

“…Are you sure you’re not imagining it? I’m sure that’s it.” Teruteru muttered, combing his hair as he often did when nervous. 

“I did fall a couple times during the blackout…Maybe it’s from me…?” Mizuki muttered, “But, I don’t think I cut myself anywhere…” 

“Someone just go and check it out already!” Mahiru demanded. 

“I’m sure it’s over there… The smell of blood is coming from that table…” Akane affirmed. 

“The smell of blood…” Hajime muttered, walking closer cautiously, looking the table over, “I don’t see anything…on the table…” 

“It’s… under it…!” Akane stated slowly. 

“Under the table…?” Hajime muttered, “There’s no way!” He shakily put his hand to grab the table cloth, and in one swift movement- 

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” He heard Mizuki scream far before he saw it himself, but upon glancing his eyes down…He saw a sight that immediately burned itself into his mind. Lying underneath the table… 

Was the lifeless body of the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, Byakuya Togami.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to investigate! Let's find out what happened to poor Byakuya Togami!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this far everyone! I am so happy that you have! Again, I love reviews and comments, positive or negative really! Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

“Bya…kuya…? Eh? Why is Byakuya…?” Sonia wondered, voice shaking. 

“N…No…” Mahiru stuttered out, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” Despite the scream, Hajime couldn’t move, couldn’t even look away, from Byakuya’s dead body lying there under the table, “…W…Why?!” 

“WHAT’S GOING OOOOOOOOOON?!” Nekomaru cried out. 

“AGYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!” Teruteru shrieked. 

“N…No way…!” Kazuichi freaked, “Stop jokin’ around! This ain’t right!” 

“This… isn’t real blood, right? It’s just jam or sauce…I…It can’t be…” Ibuki whimpered. 

“…No…I’ve seen the real thing enough to know this is it…” Biyuki softly spoke, a closed fist resting on her chest as she looked over his body, a touch of sadness in her eyes. 

“…Abuabuabuabuabuabu!” Ibuki was foaming at the mouth. 

That’s when HE showed up… 

“Goodness! I see something shocking has happened!” Monokuma stated in fake surprise, “Shocking! Just, shocking! I mean, isn’t it electrifying?! The newly deserted Jabberwock Island has finally seen its first murder!” 

“M…Murder…?” Hajime breathed out. 

“W…Wait! So, you mean…?!” Nagito questioned alarmed. 

“Upupu… Of course…Byakuya… was killed by one of you.” Monokuma confirmed. 

“Wha…?!” Hajime questioned, unbelievingly. 

“You can tell just by looking at the body. It’s obviously murder! Look at that ugly face…It’s the face of a man cursed with losing his life for the sake of another person’s ego…When you see that kind of dead face…” Monokuma paused before becoming much more energetic, claws coming out, “What could it be other than murder?! Someone here wanted so desperately to go home that they decided to make Byakuya a victim.” 

“Y…You’re lying…It’s a lie! No one killed him!” Hajime asserted, though a deep pit of despair had begun to grow heavy within him. 

“W…What… is this?!” They heard, turning to see a shocked Peko in the doorway, Chiaki right next to her, “I…Is that…Byakuya…?” 

“Why… Why did this happen? Why Byakuya?” Chiaki questioned. 

“Ahem… It seems the only person still missing is Fuyuhiko…It wouldn’t be fair to leave him out, would it? So let’s do that thing we do!~” Monokuma chirped before disappearing once more, only to reappear on a nearby screen with a bell sounding off. 

“A body has been discovered! After a short time for investigation, we will start a “school trial”!” Monokuma announced. 

“School… trial…?” Hajime questioned as the monitor went blank, Monokuma reappearing in the room. 

“You should listen more Hajime, I explained it twice already! Once to everyone but Mizuki and Biyuki, and once to all of you together! But, since I’m a swell guy, I’ll tell you again! When a murder occurs between you bastards, you are required to reason out who the culprit among you is.” 

“Y…You want us to find the culprit…?” Hajime stuttered out, still rattled. 

“Exactly! You guys must conduct an investigation, and expose the culprit who killed Byakuya!” Monokuma confirmed. 

“That’s impossible… How could someone have killed him…? There’s no way anyone would!” Mahiru shouted. 

“Upupu… That kind of reaction will just serve to draw suspicion toward you, you know…” 

“I…I won’t believe it… I won’t believe one of us killed Byakuya…There’s no way such a despair-inducing thing would happen!” Nagito argued. 

“The moment you all start thinking that way will be the moment the culprit drives you to the wall. So, let’s start this show! It’s a battle for life between you guys and the culprit! And this battle has already begun! It began the moment one of you started scheming murder!” Monokuma chortled. 

“W…Wait! What are you saying?!” Monomi stated, appearing suddenly, “Everyone! You mustn’t! You mustn’t listen to what Monokuma is saying!” 

“It doesn’t matter how much you try to interfere, there is only one truth.” Monokuma told her dismissively, “Come on everyone, the game is afoot!” 

“A foot game? Are you talking about soccer?” Monomi questioned. 

“Come, Monomi, I’ll give you the boot!” 

“Boots?! But it’s not even raining!!” 

“Come, Monomi, you’re covered in soot!” 

“W…What?! Did this happen because of the boots?! This is horrible!” 

“Man, this joke is going nowhere… In that case…” Monokuma sighed before winding up and giving a corkscrew punch, “I’m breaking up this comedy duo!” 

“UGYAAAAAAAAAAA! Being hit by a corkscrew blow really really hurts!” Monomi cried. 

“Don’t think you’re equal to me in power! I shall not treat disobedient little sisters with mercy! Your big brother can be quite the demon when he needs to! I am heavily into discipline!” 

“Uuu… If only I had my Magical Stick… I could fight back against Monokuma…” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s forget the pitiful howling of the underrabbit, and start the investigation already. I want you to show me the love by suspecting and deceiving each other! Give it all you got! All the best!!” and with that, Monokuma left, leaving them with the despair he had sewn. 

“W…What’s going on…? I don’t get it…!” Mahiru panicked. 

“He wants us to search for Togami’s killer? Why, such a terrible thing…?” Peko said softly. 

“G…Gimme a break…Why do I have to get caught up in all this bother…?” Kazuichi mumbled to himself. 

“U…Um… You mustn’t doubt each other… You should all be friends…” Monomi told them. 

“But, Mr. Porkfeet really has been killed, you know. If we don’t find the culprit, everyone else is gonna die too!” Hiyoko pointed out. 

“Nevertheless, I cannot abide this!” Sonia called out, “I have finally made some friends… and now I must be suspicious of them?!” 

“This is not about whether you can or can’t abide with this…You just have to if you want to live, don’t you? It’s not like we have a choice.” Hiyoko countered. 

“You mustn’t! Friends mustn’t doubt each other! Never!” Monomi pleaded. 

“Shut up! If you have nothing useful to say, just go away, you stupid rabbit!” Kazuichi shouted. 

“Howawa! Being scolded is scary!” Monomi cried out. 

“…………We really don’t… have a choice…” Hajime slowly said. 

“I hate this… I really hate this…” Mahiru muttered out. 

“I…I hate it too! I hate it and I’m scared!” Mikan whimpered. 

“We can’t be taken over by fear! That’s just what Monokuma wants! Th-that’s why this happened to begin with I bet!” Biyuki scolded. 

“And whether we hate it or not, Hiyoko is right. We will be killed if we don’t do it… so we have no choice.” Peko solemnly stated. 

“……But… I still won’t believe it. I won’t believe one of us killed Byakuya…I can’t believe it… I’ll never believe it…And that’s why……………I’m gonna do it.” Nagito resolved, “I will investigate Byakuya’s death… and prove it wasn’t one of us who killed him. We don’t have to suspect and deceive each other. What we must fight isn’t one another……It’s this despair that’s trying to destroy us!” 

“Ah, may I say something before we begin?” Chiaki requested, “In closed-circle mystery games and the like, this is where they decide who is going to guard the crime scene…Maybe we should do the same?” 

“I see. It would be terrible if the culprit were to destroy evidence. It would put the rest of us at a disadvantage.” Hiyoko agreed. 

“D…Destroy evidence…?” Mikan fretted. 

“If we need a guard, there’s someone with the perfect physique for it! Iiiiiiiit’s that person!” Ibuki suggested, pointing to Nekomaru. 

“…………U…UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” Nekomaru shouted before running out. 

“W…What the…? What happened?” Hajime questioned. 

“Guess he’s got a delicate heart under that tough exterior…” Kazuichi muttered. 

“…A…Are you sure that’s really it?” 

“Um… I’ll stay here…” Mahiru replied, “I don’t have the confidence required for investigating the body, and I’m not that smart anyway…All I can really do right now is stay by Byakuya’s side. That works for guarding the scene, doesn’t it?” 

“M…Mahiru……………U…Um… um…! I…I’ll do my best too! I’ll do my best not to stand in anyone’s way! I…I know just enough to examine the body a little… Please, let me do what I can as a medical worker, and…P-preform an autopsy…” Mikan stuttered out. 

“So… you’ll stay here as well, Mikan?” Chiaki confirmed. 

“But… what are the rest of us supposed to do, in concrete terms? Ibuki has no clue!” 

“It’s true that we’re not exactly trained for murder investigations…We can’t exactly go combing through every grain of sand on the beach, looking for clues. Only the police can use such methods… It’s impossible for amateurs like us.” Nagito sighed, “That’s why, right now… what’s important is our intuition. Our intuition will lead us to the proof. The proof that there is no culprit who killed Byakuya.” 

“But… investigating a friend’s death is a cruel thing to do…” Monomi whimpered. 

“You’re wrong.” Mizuki suddenly said, everyone jumping slightly since she’d been silent for so long, Mizuki turning around to face them all, eyes serious, “Investigating a friend’s death is the kindest thing we can do right now. Byakuya wanted there to be no victims. He died believing in all of us living on. To let his death be the end of us…When Byakuya wanted so much for everyone to be okay…To not find out who did this to him, whether one of us or not…Wouldn’t that be the truly cruel thing?” 

“Mizuki…” Peko breathed out as she watched her. 

“With all of my heart I believe that Byakuya would want us to find who did this, and that if he could speak right now he’d be rallying us all to go investigate, to find out what happened. And I will not ignore that wish.” Mizuki stated solemnly, “The cruel thing isn’t to investigate his death Monomi…The cruel thing is if one of us was really guided by Monokuma’s puppet strings to commit such a terrible act…” 

Everyone stood silent, watching Mizuki for a moment, Mizuki quickly beginning to feel nervous under the gaze, but not wanting to break in her resolve, trying to keep looking confident until someone finally spoke up. 

“Well then.” Nagito replied with a nod, “Let’s get to investigating then.” 

“Tah-dah! You thought you were going to start investigating now, didn’t you? But there’s one more thing!” Monokuma hummed, popping out of nowhere, “The Monokuma File! It’s a necessary provision for amateurs like you guys, of course!~” 

“W…What the hell…? The Monokuma File…?” Hajime questioned, looking at the file that had been sent to his handbook. 

“Honestly, I have to explain everything that should be obvious? What a pain…Although, it’s not like I can feel pain, is it? But, enough with the lame jokes! As I was saying. The Monokuma File courteously collects and confirms facts regarding the body. Isn’t that so kind of me?~ I mean, amateurs like you couldn’t possibly get information like this on your own…I’m so kind I wish they’d call me the Mother Theresa of the mascot world!” 

“You wish…? That’s just a simple yearning, isn’t it!” Monomi scolded. 

“Oh? Monomi-chan, the meaningless mascot, is still here?” 

“Don’t make up a mascot genre just for me!” 

“We’re leaving now! Your role here is over! Come with me right now!” 

“It hurts! Don’t pull my ears! You’ll tear them off!!” 

And just like that, the two were gone. 

“…Thank goodness…I hate rabbits anyways…” Biyuki muttered, crossing her arms. 

Hajime looked back to the file, reading the contents briefly. 

**The victim’s body was discovered at the main hall of Hotel Mirai’s old lodge.**

The time of death was around 11:30PM. 

The cause of death was stabbing with a sharp object. The victim was stabbed multiple times in the region between the abdomen and the throat. 

There are no other wounds on the body, nor any traces of poison or other drugs. 

Hajime frowned as he finished reading the file. He knew Byakuya was dead…He had seen his body himself…But…Seeing it written there, just made it all the more real…And just when he had felt he might be getting close to him… 

“Anyway… I should start my investigation. I must not miss anything.” Hajime looked at the top of the table first, not wanting to look under just yet, but the only thing up there was a desk lamp, plugged into the wall outlet…That wasn’t very helpful…He steeled his nerves. He had to do it…Had to…Look under there…With a deep breath, he knelt down, examining the body. He felt sorrow first, quietly promising to Byakuya: 

“I will find the truth behind your death.” Before looking closer. Under the table, Byakuya’s body was lying face down, the blood pooling slightly around him…It looked as though he was in the middle of doing something, but…The file said he had been repeatedly stabbed between his stomach and his throat…it was hard to imagine any of them being so cruel as to do that… 

“…Hm? What’s this?” Hajime wondered as his eyes fell upon what seemed to be… 

**‘They look like… binoculars…?’** He thought curiously. 

“Why are there binoculars under the table?” He wondered. 

“Hajime… those aren’t binoculars.” Nagito corrected. 

“Eh? So… what are they?” 

“I’m pretty sure… they’re night-vision goggles.” 

“N…Night-vision goggles?” 

“I saw them at the supermarket when we were there earlier. They had a whole stand of military and survival stuff…” 

**‘Did the culprit use night-vision goggles to stab Byakuya during the blackout…?’** Hajime wondered, then his eyes turning to something a tad more alarming, **‘This blood-stained knife… Is this the murder weapon? …And… Hey, wait a minute…How did a murder weapon even get into the hall? I mean… Byakuya was VERY thorough in his body checks, and even went to check around the lodge…Every dangerous item should have been inside that duralumin case…Maybe… someone could have swiped it from the case…? Or…maybe… it was hidden somewhere and Byakuya didn’t see it…There’s one more interesting thing about this knife…There’s some kind of paint all over the handle…When I look at it under the table, where the light is dim, it seems to be faintly luminous……Could this be glow-in-the-dark paint?’** He looked down to the blood Byakuya was lying in. There was so much…And there were stains all over the underside of the cloth….But, there wasn’t a trail anywhere…There was something on the underside of the table…tape? With the same paint as the knife… He gave one more look and decided he had probably looked at everything he could under there, and decided to talk to the students who had remained in the hall: Mikan, Gundham, Nagito, Mahiru, Mizuki, and Biyuki. He started with Mikan, walking over to her as she muttered to herself. 

“Uuu… why must we investigate a friend’s death? T…This is horrible…B…But! I’m the only one here who’s a medical worker! S…So… I have to do something…! S…S…Something…” Mikan stuttered out, jumping when Hajime put a hand on her shoulder. 

“How about calming down a little first?” He suggested with a small smile. 

“You’re right… I…I have to calm down. I mean… I am prone to accidents even when I’m not panicking…” Mikan agreed. 

“Yeah… I can tell by the way you keep falling down.” 

“T…That was a truly disgraceful pose I found myself in, wasn’t it…Nooooooo! I…I just remembered it again! T…That embarrassing pose… I…in front of everybody…!” 

“Embarrassing or not… how did you even end up like that?” 

“I-I heard someone else fall in the chaos, t-twice! Th-the second time I was better able to tell w-where it was coming f-from, and it sounded as though th-they might be…injured…so, I-I went to go tr-try and help them, I-it’s my duty as a Nurse aft-ter all…But…S…Somehow… I was distracted by the blackout and my foot got caught in the edge of the carpet… And I tried to get loose and…Wahh… it is embarrassing after all…! Please… erase it from your memory!” Mikan begged. 

“Um… unfortunately, it’s not that easy to forget……I’m sorry.” Hajime apologized. 

“Sniff… I can’t take it…!” Hajime decided that anything else he said would only make it worse, turning and walking over to talk to Nagito. 

“Hey Nagito.” 

“Hey, Hajime. Good timing. There’s actually something I want to confirm with you…Byakuya… was here with us at the main hall until the lights went out, right?” Nagito questioned. 

“…Yeah, I am sure of that.” 

“And since we found his body after the lights came back on……That means he has to have died during the blackout, right?” Nagito reasoned. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” 

“But… Why did we find Byakuya’s body under that table? If the culprit wanted to hide the body, it wasn’t a very effective hiding place……I don’t get it at all.” Nagito puzzled. 

“Yeah…” Hajime muttered, thoughtfully. 

“It seems… that figuring out what happened during the blackout would be a huge step toward solving this mystery.” 

“But there’s no way we can do that, is there? It was completely dark back then. No one could see anything.” 

“You’re right. Seeing was impossible. But maybe there’s someone who could hear what happened?” Nagito suggested. 

“…Hear?” Hajime questioned, though he already thought he might know who the other was talking about, “…We can go check it out after I’ve talked to everyone here.” Nagito nodded, Hajime turning to go talk to Mahiru next. She seemed deep in thought, not realizing he was there until he spoke. 

“Mahiru… are you alright?” He questioned tentatively. 

“Alright? Sure…” She muttered then exploding on him, “…Of course I’m not alright! This is madness! I mean… we were just talking to that guy… and now he’s……How could this ever be 'alright'? And that’s not all! One of us killed him, right?!” 

“We… still don’t know that for sure…” 

“…Yes, we do! I’m sure you’ve figured that much out by yourself already! And now… we have to find out who the culprit is…. We have to accuse one of our friends of killing another friend…” Mahiru’s voice wavered, holding herself as Hajime moved to comfort her slightly, a hand on her shoulder. 

“I don’t like it myself… but if we don’t, we’re done for. This isn’t every man for himself! We have to do it for everyone’s sake!” He told her. 

“If I had just acted a little more calmly during the blackout, Byakuya would probably not be dead now. And we wouldn’t be doing this right now…” Mahiru replied. 

“Come on… You can’t blame yourself for this…” Mahiru was silent for a long time before huffing. 

“Ah, I’ve had it!! This isn’t like me at all, being consoled by a man like this! Hey, Hinata. This conversation never happened. Got it?!” Mahiru asserted. 

“Uh… Sure…” Hajime agreed nervously. 

“Anyway… I’ll try and stop thinking about it too much. I don’t want to be a hindrance to everyone. And… there’s one thing I have on me that might be helpful…” 

“…You have something helpful?” 

“Photos. Do you remember? I took some right before the blackout happened.” 

“I see… You have the photos from back then…” 

“Do you want to see them? This is a digital camera, so we can look at them straight away.” Mahiru offered. 

“Yeah, let’s see them!” Hajime agreed, moving to look at the screen of the camera. 

“Um… there’s this photo and…This one, as well. I took both right before the blackout, but…” Mahiru’s brows suddenly creased as she looked at the picture, “Huh…?” 

“…Is something wrong?” Hajime inquired. 

“I just noticed. Take a look at where Byakuya was standing before the blackout…He’s quite a distance from that table we found him under, isn’t he? I mean, that table is that one with the lamp on it, right under the monitor, right? Well, Byakuya’s standing clear on the opposite side of the room!” Mahiru pointed out. 

“You’re right… That’s pretty far away…” 

**‘Something isn’t right here…’** Hajime thought to himself before turning back to Mahiru. 

“Hey, can you tell exactly where everyone was standing from these pictures?” 

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. It’s a little difficult to tell just by looking at them, though, but I should be able to figure it out if I’m careful…But… would that really be helpful?” Mahiru questioned. 

“I still don’t know for sure… but it couldn’t hurt.” Hajime replied with a shrug. 

“Got it… so, leave that to me. I think this is a job only I can handle.” 

“Yeah, that would be great.” Hajime confirmed. 

“Right, in that case…You’ve got work to do too, don’t you?! How long do you plan to stand here being useless?!” Mahiru scolded, “I fully expect you to bring to light the reason Byakuya was killed. Understand?” 

“Y…Yeah, I understand…” Hajime laughed nervously, turning and walking next over to Gundham. 

“O, Devildog Earring… answer my calls!” Gundham plead aloud, waiting for a moment then crying out when nothing happened, “Argh! Will nothing work…?!” 

“Um, are you… still looking for that earring you dropped?” Hajime inquired. 

“It is no ordinary earring… It is ‘The Devildog Earring’! Once, in a distant land, there lived a savage beast that couldn’t be tamed – even by his so-called ‘master’. They called him ‘The Devildog’…” Gundham recalled. 

**‘…I regret asking.’** Hajime thought. 

“The Devildog wandered from one battlefield to the next, his fangs forever slimy with hot blood…His fur, stained red, drying in the wind… he wandered the earth alone for eternity…And on the day I finally domesticated the Devildog, I was given an earring as a keepsake…That is the legend of the Devildog Earring. I carry it always… so I shall never forget the day I fought that fearsome Pomeranian…” Gundham told him. 

**‘A fearsome… Pomeranian. Right.’**

“I get that it’s important to you, but… what about Byakuya’s murder?” Hajime pointed out. 

“Where is it?! Answer me! Where did it disappear to?!” Gundham demanded. 

“…………Maybe… it fell under the floor? The carpet doesn’t extend to the corners of the hall, so it’s possible it fell through the gaps in the floor…” Hajime suggested with a sigh, Gundham looking over to the floorboards in question before smiling. 

“Muhahaha! So, that is what happened! A fine observation…!” He laughed loudly before walking to the corner and pushing his face towards one of the gaps, “I…It’s there…It’s there! My Devildog Earring!! Fuha! Fuhahaha! God favors Gundham Tanaka alone!” 

“That’s great.” 

“……………But, how do I get it out of there? My hand will not fit through this gap, and it seems no tool can reach far enough in…” 

“I guess you have to give it up, then?” 

“…Give up on the world?” 

“The earring.” 

“Bah! Do you not know?! Should this earring ever be lost to mankind, this world will end in an instant…! You humans… forever satisfied with your fabricated wisdom! These falsehoods will not protect you when the cold comes, ignorant one.” Gundham told him as he stood, Hajime very confused as to why he was upset at HIM now, “Feh. I was naive to think I could depend on you… So be it. I shall see to this matter personally. The wellbeing of this world… falls once again into my hands.” That was when Gundham left the room. Hajime sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

**‘I guess he really wants that earring back. That’s some determination he has, though……I wish he’d use it to help with the investigation.’** Hajime thought, turning and walking over to Biyuki next. 

“Um…So…Stabbed repeatedly…” Hajime muttered, looking at Biyuki as she looked deep in thought before she turned to him with a raised brow. 

“Oh, so you think it’s me because of this morning, right? …I was waiting for something like this to come up…” Biyuki sighed. 

“…I don’t want to doubt you or anything Biyuki, but…He was stabbed…” 

“Well, you don’t have to worry. It wasn’t me. He took my knife, remember? And also, I’m pretty sure earlier I told everyone to call me Yanii. I like it better.” Biyuki retorted. 

“…Right…Yanii, but, there’s a knife under the table…” 

“That’s not MY knife though. Mine is still locked up in the case.” Biyuki refuted. 

“So?” 

“So? You think I’d cheat on my knife?! Insulting…I would never stab or slice or anything with anything besides my knife! I got that knife the day I met Mizuki…It’s very special to me…That’s why I was so sad Byakuya took it…” Biyuki sighed, “And besides that, if you’ll recall I wasn’t even in the room when that happened.” 

“…Huh? Oh yeah…” Hajime recalled, remembering her telling Mizuki something then departing, “Where did you go?” 

“To the bathroom, if you have to know…” Biyuki replied, “Little nosy of you, don’t you think?” 

“Can’t leave any stone unturned during an investigation…” 

“…I understand…But I’m done talking to you.” Biyuki told him, crossing her arms and turning. 

**‘….That seems to be the end of that…’** He thought, looking around to see the last person he hadn’t talked to, Mizuki, sitting and holding her arms sadly. 

“…Mizuki? Are you okay?” 

“…I wish I could take it back.” 

“…Huh? What are you talking about Mizuki?” Hajime wondered. Mizuki looked up at him sadly. 

“All of that sass I was giving Byakuya…About how forks and table knives weren’t dangerous, and how cautious he was being…He was right…He should have been even MORE cautious…He just wanted to protect everyone and I…I wish I could take what I said back…” Mizuki muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest. 

“Mizuki, don’t say that…We all thought he was going a little overboard…” Hajime comforted. 

“But I was the one that was a big jerk about it.” Mizuki sighed, looking up to Hajime, “But…I still believe we can find who killed him…I-I’ll help wherever I can…In fact…D-Do you mind if I come with you? I promise I won’t get in the way.” Hajime gave a slight nod. 

“If you want to, I could use all the help I can get…” He agreed. Biyuki watched this and thought about it before deciding to just let Mizuki go. If she went anywhere that had clues and touched things, people might accuse her of trying to hide evidence or something. Mizuki gave a small smile and a nod. 

“Great, just tell me when you want to go!” Mizuki told him. Hajime nodded, deciding to take one more look around before they all left. He looked over and saw the air conditioner on the wall, considering it. Perhaps that was where the beeping had come from…? He walked over and looked closer at it. 

**‘The timer is set to 11:30…That’s about the same time Byakuya was killed. In that case…That mechanical beep back then must have been this air conditioner turning on!’** Hajime confirmed. He looked around then noticed the duralumin case, frowning as he walked over slowly. 

**‘Ah, that’s… the duralumin case Byakuya was carrying…It seems it’s been opened at some point…’** Hajime considered, looking inside, **‘There’s a nightstick inside… and a can of tear gas… and some other unsettling items…’** Then his eyes landed on something interesting, **‘…Hm? What is this? It’s a hard plastic case… but it’s empty. What was inside…? That would be interesting to know. But, there’s one more interesting thing in here.’** He reached and picked up the key inside of the case, **‘This key… It must be the key to the other duralumin case. The one with all the dangerous items in it. The one in the office…If the key’s still here, inside this case, then…It stands to reason that the other case hasn’t been opened…In other words… The weapons inside that other case have nothing to do with Byakuya’s murder…’**

**‘But… I feel like I understand even less now. Why did Byakuya have this case with him? It’s packed full of defense items…But these… aren’t exactly the kinds of things you keep around ‘just in case’….’** Hajime thought it over before an idea struck him, **‘Maybe… he knew something was up? And… he was so cautious he had to keep these things with him?’**

“Ah, Hajime… Do you have a second?” Nagito requested. 

“…Hm? What is it?” Hajime wondered, turning to him. 

“If you’re done investigating the hall for now, how about we go talk to the others together? See, if I go talk to them alone, there might be some who would be on their guard and won’t talk to me…” Nagito told him. 

“Well… We’ve just been told the culprit is one of us, so its natural people will be on their guard…But, why me?” 

“Hmmm… why indeed? You’re easy to talk to, Hajime. And… I feel you’re a little like me. We both have special feelings toward Hope’s Peak Academy… don’t we?” 

“Well, I guess……Sure. Mizuki also asked to come with me though, so the three of us will have to work together.” Hajime responded. 

“…That’s okay! Mizuki is really nice.” Nagito agreed. 

“Come on Mizuki, We’re going.” Hajime declared. 

“Okay!” Mizuki chirped, running over as the three headed out to investigate. 

“For the time being, let’s investigate the rest of the lodge and speak to everyone. I think… we should consider our ‘crime scene’ to be the whole building, and not just the main hall…I mean, when the lights went out, it affected the entire lodge.” Nagito stated. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Hajime agreed. 

“Alright, if you guys think so.” Mizuki replied, following as they went over towards Ibuki first, who was walking up and down the corridor. 

“…Ibuki? What are you doing?” Nagito questioned. Ibuki looked up and gave a big smile. 

“Every great detective knows you can’t have a proper investigation without lots of legwork! So Ibuki’s using her legs! She’s been idly walking up and down this corridor!” Ibuki told them excitedly. 

“…Hey, Hajime… I’ve been thinking. I think she might know something about the situation during the blackout.” Nagito commented. 

“Yeah, I thought so too.” Hajime agreed. 

“Huh?! Why do you think so?!” Ibuki questioned. 

“As expected, you heard us, even though we’ve been whispering to each other…” Nagito chuckled. 

“Tee-hee! Ibuki not only has looks, style and personality – her ears are pretty good too!~” 

“…That’s exactly it. If your ears really are that good, you must have heard exactly what went on during the power outage.” Hajime pointed out. 

“Cool! Like a superpower!” Mizuki hummed happily. 

“When the lights were down… there were a lot of people talking. I couldn’t really tell who everyone was… but you probably could, right, Ibuki?” Nagito determined. 

“This is breakfast for Ibuki!” 

“…Huh?” Hajime wondered. 

“Heh heh heh heh! Ibuki stuffs herself full of strawberry shortcake every morning!” 

“Oh, I see… so it’s ‘a piece of cake’… But, isn’t strawberry shortcake a little excessive first thing in the morning?” Nagito chuckled. 

“Any other type of cake would be heretical! If it’s cake, it must be strawberry shortcake!” Ibuki demanded. 

“Hmmm… I’d think chocolate cake and cheesecake are pretty popular too…” Nagito pointed out. 

“Ooh! Or chocolate cheesecake! Or ice cream cake!~ …Though maybe not for breakfast…” Mizuki muttered. 

“Anyway… Can you just tell us what you heard? I’m begging you.” Hajime sighed, already done with the three being so distracted. 

“At last! Ibuki’s been waiting for something to sink her teeth into!” 

“No problem! If you help us, I’ll let you bite Hajime, too.” Nagito offered. 

“Shut up… She might think you’re serious.” Hajime grumbled. 

“Take one for the team Hajime.” Mizuki replied. 

“Leeeeet’s see… The first voice Ibuki heard during the blackout was…” Ibuki looked deep in thought, “Right, Mahiru! She was all like: ‘Uwah, the power’s out!’ Then Kazuichi said ‘The hell happened?! I can’t see nothing!’ Then next was Ibuki herself, ‘I…its too dark! Everything’s too dark!’ such a true and insightful comment…” 

“Right, right, and then?” Hajime encouraged. 

“Oh, then it was you Mizu-kun! ‘Waaahhh, what’s going on?! I-OW!!!’ and then you bumped into something and fell.” 

“Yeah…I hit the table…” 

“Then Mahiru talked again, ‘C…Calm down, everyone! We have to keep calm at a time like this!’ then Hiyoko was like, ‘Waaah! Don’t step on my feet!’ and then Byakuya said ‘Oy, what are you doing?! Stop it!!’ and Nagito went ‘Ow!’ Then Akane was all like ‘Turn on the lights! It’s hard to eat this way!’ Then Teruteru responded with ‘Hey, everyone! Where are you? T…This power outage… it isn’t just in the kitchen?’ And then Mizuki musta tried standing up again and moving because she said ‘Why in the world would a power outage just be in the kitch-OW!’ before she knocked into something else, and then Mikan was tryin to be all noble and stuff and said ‘A-Are you hurt? I-I c-can try t-to make my w-way over and h-he-AAAH!’ before she tripped, probably into that super awkward position, and then Mahiru got kinda pissed and was like ‘Alright, can everyone stop trying to move in this pitch black room?!’ Then Sonia spoke up with ‘Could someone perhaps have flipped the circuit breakers?’ and then Kazuichi told everyone ‘W…Wait here! I’ll use the walls as a guide and go see if I can’t fix this…!’ And then he left.” Ibuki smiled, hands on her hips as she opened her eyes, “Thank you, thank you. And, we’re done! Tee-hee. Amazing, huh?! How awesome was that?!” 

“Yeah, got it. You can let go of my sleeve now…Hey, Nagito, Mizuki… Say something to her…!” Hajime plead, but the two looked deep in thought, “…Hey, what’s wrong?” 

“Huh? Oh, I just noticed something. It’s about what Byakuya said during the blackout…” Nagito considered. 

“…Byakuya?” 

“How come Byakuya said what he did when everything was dark? That is… how could he say it? ‘What are you doing?!’, and then ‘Stop it!!’…” Nagito puzzled. 

“…What do you mean?” 

“Would you mind if we wait until after we’ve investigated some more before I tell you what’s on my mind? Right now… I’m still not certain of anything.” Nagito muttered. 

“Well, I don’t really mind, but…” 

“Anyway, I think your testimony’s going to be a very important clue to finding the truth, Ibuki.” 

“Yes! All hail Ibuki! Time for my prize!” 

“–Ow! She actually bit me!” Hajime rubbed his arm as he saw Mizuki thinking too, “What about you Mizuki, what are you thinking about?” 

“Hmm? Oh, it’s probably nothing…I was just a little confused about something…But with my ADHD I probably just didn’t notice…I don’t want to make a fuss…” Mizuki muttered. 

“Alright then, if you’re sure…” Hajime replied, looking around before they spotted Sonia, looking confused as they walked over, then noticing them. 

“Um… May I ask of you all a question?” 

“…Hm? What is it?” Hajime wondered. 

“Um, you see…” Sonia turned and put her hand on a part of the wall, “This part of the wall is made of different material and is colored differently from the rest. What does it mean?” 

“Oh. This is a fire door, isn’t it?” Nagito thought aloud. 

“A… fire door?” Sonia questioned. 

“…Eh? You’ve never seen one before?” Hajime wondered. 

“In case there’s a fire, this door can be sealed to stop it from spreading. That gives everyone a chance to escape.” Nagito explained. 

“I see! It seals the area! This is just like when you surround a house with plastic bottles!” 

“…Well, that’s for cats.” Hajime replied. 

“So she knows how to keep cats away, but she’s never seen a fire door.” Nagito chuckled. 

“I don’t know why anyone would ever want to keep cats AWAY…” Mizuki muttered. 

“I am so very ashamed… This is most certainly a case of culture shock.” Sonia apologized. 

“No, no, it’s fine. If you need anything else, we’ll be in the kitchen.” Nagito assured her, the group heading over there next. Inside, they saw Teruteru, the only other one in there. 

“Hey, Teruteru… Were you here in the kitchen when the lights went out?” Hajime questioned. 

“I was quite shocked when that happened…At first, I thought the power outage was limited to the kitchen, but when I somehow managed to find my way out…The corridor was completely dark as well! But, I could hear everyone’s voices, so I tried finding my way by clinging to the wall…And when I did, I saw it was dark in there as well… There was absolutely no light anywhere.” Teruteru recounted. 

“Couldn’t you have used the kitchen range to get some light going?” Hajime suggested. 

“No, that’s impossible. It’s a gas range, but it’s controlled electronically so it was also affected by the outage.” Teruteru replied. 

“I see… so there really was nothing you could do.” Hajime muttered. He looked around the kitchen to see if there was anything else important around. He noticed once more the various plates of food in the corner. His eyes fell upon the large meat on the bone he had seen last time. 

“Isn’t that amazing? A huge chunk of meat to amaze everyone!” Teruteru hummed as he noticed the look Hajime was giving, “A dish perfect for an island like this. You just can’t get this kind of meat in urban Aoyama and Azabu. Nope! I grew up in Aoyama and Azabu, and there’s no such meat there!” 

“You don’t have to repeat yourself – I get it. But… where did you get such a huge chunk of meat?” 

“I had to ask Nekomaru to get it for me. I think he killed the cow at the farm with his bare hands.” 

“W…With his bare hands…?” 

“That’s an unbelievable story… but probably not an impossible one. I mean, that guy’s hands look like they’re specially made just to beat on things.” Nagito mentioned. 

“Well that’s a kind of mean way to put it…” Mizuki muttered. 

“Was it? I didn’t mean it to be…” Nagito considered. 

“Sure gives a feeling of wilderness, doesn’t it? But, I am sometimes jealous of such rural lifestyles. After all, I grew up in Aoyama and Azabu, so I… don’t really have much experience of that kind of thing.” Teruteru changed the subject. 

“It sure is a waste of meat, though. I mean… No one’s going to want to eat anything now that such a terrible thing has happened…The only ones who even got to eat at all are Akane and… Peko, who took a portion with her.” Nagito pointed out. 

“Bah. Don’t remind me…After preparing the world’s tastiest party food, only two people got to taste it…” Teruteru huffed, “I still don’t quite believe it, but if one of us really is the culprit…Grrrah! I will never forgive them for doing this to me!” Hajime backed up a bit, then his eyes falling on the kitchen equipment list. Nagito saw him looking at it, and went to look himself. 

“As far as I can tell from this list…The knife we found next to Byakuya’s body didn’t come from this kitchen. It seems someone brought it in from outside.” Nagito muttered. 

“But… if that’s the case, how did they get it past Byakuya?” Hajime questioned. 

“That is strange… he didn’t even spare the girls a full body check…” Nagito muttered. 

“I can vouch for that…” Mizuki muttered, blushing lightly. 

**‘…In that case… perhaps they brought it in beforehand and hid it somewhere…?’** Hajime considered. 

“Nevertheless… this is a surprisingly complete list, isn’t it? There’s even a barbecue griddle and a portable hot-pot stove in this kitchen.” Nagito mentioned. 

“Yeah! Me and Teruteru were surprised all of it was still here!” Mizuki confirmed. Hajime nodded, though there was a strange feeling in his gut, though he couldn’t place it. 

“But there isn’t a single thing on it that seems like it could be connected to the case. We should move on.” Hajime stated. 

“…Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Nagito agreed. 

“… We should get going.” Hajime suggested. 

“…Yeah, let’s go.” Nagito agreed. They left and went to the Storage closet next. 

“Wow, it sure is dusty in here… and there’s not much light, either.” Hajime commented. 

“I was so busy cleaning up the main hall that I just didn’t have time to do this room as well…There are cobwebs everywhere… I don’t think anyone could stay here for long.” Nagito commented. Mizuki started to cough. 

“Speaking of which, I think I’ll wait for you guys outside…My asthma is not agreeing with this room…” Mizuki muttered, pulling her hoodie over her mouth. The other two nodded as she left and they investigated. They looked at the tablecloths on the shelves, nothing seeming out of place until they looked down at the laundry basket to see one shoved in. 

“Take a look at this tablecloth… See what’s on it?” Hajime questioned, pulling it out, “That’s… blood, isn’t it?!” 

“…Eh? Blood?” 

“Come here and look, that’s clearly blood!” 

“It’s dark in here… I can’t really tell.” 

“I…I’m sure that’s what it is! It can’t be anything else! And if that’s blood… then this tablecloth must be connected to Byakuya’s murder somehow!” 

“If this tablecloth really has blood on it, then that is indeed a possibility.” 

“I’m telling you, it’s blood!” They saw a large pile of boxes, though they decided to ignore them since it would take far too long to go through all of them anyways…And then… 

“Hm? Are those irons?” Hajime wondered, “They don’t seem to be plugged in, but why are there even three irons over here?” 

“…That is weird, isn’t it? When we went looking for Byakuya after the lights came back on, I found those irons here……But they were all plugged in and powered on.” Nagito informed him. 

“…They were powered on?” 

“I thought it would be bad if we had another outage, so I unplugged them. But… doesn’t it seem like someone did this deliberately?” After that, the two decided they’d found everything they could in the dark room, going out and seeing Mizuki before they continued on. Hajime saw the toilet and-considering that two people had already talked about it at least a little-decided to investigate. But upon wiggling the handle, it wouldn’t open. 

“Huh? It’s locked.” Hajime muttered. 

“It seems someone’s inside. It’s a unisex toilet so it could be anyone…” Nagito commented, “Heeeey, is someone in there?!” 

… 

No response. 

“No answer… That’s not very considerate, is it?” Nagito huffed, crossing his arms. 

“It’s pretty rude to yell at someone on the toilet though when you think about it.” Mizuki pointed out. 

“…Let’s give it up for now and come back to investigate later.” Nagito replied. 

“Yeah.” The three of them decided to go to the office next since it was nearby. 

“The circuit breakers for the old lodge should be in this office.” Nagito mentioned. 

“The breakers, huh…? They probably have something to do with the outage.” Hajime guessed. 

“We should go ahead and check them out first, then.” Nagito recommended, them going over and looking up at him, “Hmmm… I can’t see any signs they were tampered with. There’s nothing suspicious about them, really…” 

“Aren’t they a little too high, though? I don’t think any of us could reach them without standing up on something…” Hajime mentioned. 

“Not even Nekomaru? He’s pretty tall…But I’m pretty short so anyone taller than like 5’7” looks pretty tall to me…” Mizuki muttered. 

“No, not even Nekomaru could reach that…” Nagito doubted, crossing his arms. Kazuichi came over, hearing the conversation, and crossed his arms. 

“That’s right… And that’s not even the end of it…See, I was in a massive panic during that blackout, so I forgot to bring this up before, but…Well, it’s like you said. No one can reach the breakers. Even if they stood on something. They’re just too high up. So… what I mean is… Who flipped the breakers back on? And how’d they do it?” Kazuichi puzzled. 

“I did it!” They heard, turning to see Monokuma standing there. 

“…Whaaaaa! He’s here!” Kazuichi exclaimed. 

“You guys seemed to be tooooootally unable to handle that blackout, so I flipped the breakers back on for you. Ah, by the way - it wasn’t me who tripped them in the first place. That was the culprit, of course.” Monokuma told them. 

“B…But… you’re too small. How could you even reach the fuse box?” Hajime questioned. 

“And how could you see it? It was pitch black in here!” Mizuki huffed, crossing her arms. 

“First of all, my eyes have night-vision built in, so seeing in the darkness wasn’t a problem for me. Then, as for how I could reach so high to flip the breakers on…I stretch. My entire torso stretches. I am a very elastic bear, you see.” Monokuma told them with a gentle laugh. 

“…T…That’s clearly a lie!” Kazuichi accused. 

“It’s true! Do you want me to demonstrate? Do you want to see Monokuma’s long torso version? It’s gross and grotesque!” 

“I… think we’ll pass. Just thinking about that is… unpleasant.” Nagito told him. 

“Really? I think it would be kinda interesting…” Mizuki commented. 

“No it wouldn’t hush.” Nagito scolded quietly, Mizuki pouting. 

“Awww, too bad! Nevertheless, Monokuma is a very kind bear! If there was a popularity contest, I’d be the landslide winner!” Monokuma bragged before he left again. 

“W…What the hell…? He was the one who brought the lights back on…? W…Well, I guess that’s one mystery solved. I knew it wasn’t possible for one of us to reach that high…” Kazuichi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Hajime looked around and then saw Peko in the corner of the room, all of them walking over to her before she sighed, looking to them. 

“I know what you are thinking. I am under heavy suspicion, am I not?” 

“Eh?” Hajime questioned. 

**‘I didn’t even say anything!’**

“It is unavoidable…There was an unexpected power outage, during which Byakuya was murdered…” Peko muttered, looking away, “Furthermore, the circuit breakers are here… and I was supposed to be here as well. It is only natural suspicion would turn to me.” 

“You were ‘supposed to’…? Does that mean…?” Nagito trailed off. 

“That’s right! You weren’t here when the lights came back on! I was looking for you! …Where were you? You were supposed to be guarding the breakers and the weapon case, right? And yet… you decided to just go who knows where without telling anyone…?” Kazuichi growled. 

“Would you have rather guarded it?” Mizuki huffed, crossing her arms, not wanting him to berate Peko anymore, “After all, she sacrificed the fun of the party to guard this for us! If she left, I’m sure she had a good reason!” 

“About that…” Peko started, before her eyes widened and she began to clutch her stomach, dropping to a knee, “…Uu!! Gah… Kkkk…!” 

“Peko!” Mizuki exclaimed, rushing to her side, “Are you okay?!” 

“N…No… I am not… feeling too well… I’m sorry, but… Please excuse me…” Peko groaned, moving to leave before Kazuichi stood in her way. 

“’Excuse you’…? The hell?” Kazuichi questioned suspiciously. 

“Peko, it seems someone’s using the one here in the lodge…I recommend heading straight to the hotel or to your cottage.” Nagito told her. 

“…Eh?” Hajime questioned, watching as Peko nodded. 

“Ku… It appears I have… a painful road ahead of me…!” She moaned out, Mizuki staying by her side. 

“Here Peko, I’ll help you. You guys go on without me, I’ll catch up later.” Mizuki told them, slinging Peko’s arm over her shoulder as the two quickly headed out. 

“W…What’s up with her…?” Hajime wondered, turning to Nagito since he seemed to know. 

“Um… It would be rude for me to say anything. I have to think about Peko’s feelings…” 

“I see what’s going on here. She just ran away from us, didn’t she? Which means she must be the culprit! I’m pretty sure about that!” Kazuichi accused. 

“…Why do you think so?” Hajime questioned. 

“Well, she was supposed to be here. And she wasn’t. I mean, right after the blackout I was in this room when the lights came on-which is a little weird cause I didn’t see Monokuma either, but if he really was all stretched out I’m glad-And she already wasn’t here. But when we were all looking for Byakuya I came back, and she STILL wasn’t here.” Kazuichi counted off, “Well, I wouldn’t want Sonia getting mad at me, so you didn’t hear this from me, but…I think Peko flipped the breakers, and then used the darkness to go and murder Byakuya. Also, don’t you think her face’s always too calm? She looks just like an assassin, doesn’t she?” 

**‘Well, it’s not like you have such an inviting face yourself…’** Hajime looked around before his eyes fell onto the air conditioner that was in there as well, walking over and looking at it. It was set for the same time as the other one…11:30… 

“This… can’t be a coincidence.” He muttered. He looked around again, eyes then falling on the Duralumin case. 

“Shouldn’t we check inside… just in case?” Nagito suggested, “You have the key still, right?” 

“Oh, yeah. I figured we should take it so we could look inside this thing…Make sure nothing was taken when Byakuya wasn’t looking…” Hajime took out the key and kneeled down, unlocking the case and opening it with a click before they both looked inside. 

“Forks and knives… some skewers and a wrench. Everything is stuffed inside that little box…But… I don’t think the culprit had any way to get something out of this case. I mean, it was definitely still locked, and the key to open it was still inside the other case. The one Byakuya was holding.” Nagito considered. Hajime gave a nod. 

“I think that’s about everything in here…Where next?” Hajime wondered. 

“I have an idea. Why don’t we go take a look at Byakuya’s cottage?” Nagito suggested. 

“Byakuya’s cottage…?” 

“I think we might find a clue there… it wouldn’t hurt looking, in any case. It’s just that…I’m afraid of going alone. It might turn out dangerous.” Nagito muttered. 

“I don’t really mind coming along with you, but…Aren’t you worried the danger might turn out to be me?” Hajime questioned. 

“…You mean, why aren’t I afraid it might be you who’s the culprit, Hajime? To tell you the truth, it hasn’t even crossed my mind. Or, maybe I should say, I don’t want it to. I mean… If surviving means I have to suspect my friends, I’d rather die trusting them.” Nagito told him sincerely. 

“Don’t say that… How’s dying going to help you? Aren’t we doing this in order to survive in the first place?” Hajime scolded. 

“That’s just like you, Hajime… You really are strong. As expected from someone chosen to attend Hope’s Peak Academy.” Nagito sighed, then smiling, “So, let’s go! Straight to Byakuya’s cottage!” 

“Y…Yeah…” Hajime stuttered out. The two left the office and went to go to Byakuya’s cottage, but were greeted with an odd sight, Chiaki, Biyuki, and Gundham together trying to peer underneath the house through the wood grating. 

“…Hey, what are you guys doing?” Hajime questioned. 

“’What are we doing’? Ha! A question fit for an imbecile!” Gundham announced. 

“Um… We are checking if there is a way to get under the floor from here.” Chiaki answered. 

“I personally think we should just break the wooden grating…If the place is under reconstruction anyways they’re probably planning to replace it.” Biyuki muttered, looking along the grating for weak points in the wood. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Biyuki…What are you all trying to get under the floor for anyways?” Hajime wondered. 

“They thought it impossible. They judged it useless. But who are they to decide? That earring… must be returned to me, whatever the cost!” Gundham demanded. 

“And I have a feeling… that the truth behind this murder hinges on whether the space under the floor is accessible or not. And that’s why… it is necessary to investigate that. I think.” Chiaki mumbled. 

“I got bored sitting around doing nothing without Mizuki, and these are the only two people besides her that don’t seem to suspect me of killing Byakuya, so I’m chilling with them.” Biyuki replied with a shrug, “Also, I’m pretty sure I told you all to call me Yanii from now on.” 

“I see… the space under the floor. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t notice it myself until now.” Nagito muttered, thoughtfully holding his chin. 

“…What do you mean?” Hajime questioned. 

“Try to recall the scene. The carpet didn’t reach the floor under the table, where we found Byakuya’s body. And that’s not all – the wooden floor at the hall had gaps between the boards, right?” Nagito recalled. 

“You’re not… are you saying the culprit could have stabbed Byakuya from under the floor?!” Hajime exclaimed. 

“I thought so too, so I decided to check if someone could enter that space from over here……………” Chiaki muttered. 

“…And? Did you find anything?” Hajime inquired. 

“No. I think it’s impossible to reach that space from outside the lodge. There’s a remarkably sturdy fence surrounding the space under the floor on all sides.” Chiaki replied. 

“We’ll see how sturdy it really is…YA!” Biyuki kicked it then hopped around on one foot, holding her own, “OW, ow, Okay, yeah, sturdy.” Biyuki agreed. 

“And besides that, if someone had managed to break it down we would have seen a hole…” Chiaki mumbled thoughtfully. 

“It’s also inaccessible from inside. I haven’t seen anywhere you could get under the floor from…” Nagito mentioned. 

“But… maybe there’s some kind of a hidden door somewhere?” Hajime suggested. 

“No, I don’t think so.” Nagito replied. 

“R…Really?” Hajime questioned. 

“In any case, it seems it’s impossible to access that space from outside. I’m quite relieved, actually.” Nagito sighed happily. 

“Relieved? Why?” 

“Because… if it were possible to enter that space from the outside, that would make one person seem very suspicious, wouldn’t it? The one person who wasn’t at the party and has no alibi…” Nagito muttered out. 

“Oh, I get it… Fuyuhiko.” 

“Actually… I had the same suspicion. That’s why I decided to check if one could enter that space from the outside.” Chiaki admitted, “By the way… A short while after I first came here to guard against Monokuma……Fuyuhiko passed by the area.” 

“…Eh? He did?” 

* * *

_Chiaki was standing at the entrance when she noticed Fuyuhiko passing by._

“…Huh? Why are you here, Fuyuhiko?” She questioned, surprising Fuyuhiko as he jumped, but almost immediately regained himself. 

“I…I could ask you the same question… Why the hell are you standing here all by yourself…?” Fuyuhiko retorted. 

“I’m on guard. I’m keeping Monokuma out of the party.” Chiaki answered. 

“Heh… Must be a pain…” Fuyuhiko muttered. 

“….Why don’t you join the party, Fuyuhiko?” Chiaki suggested. 

“I wouldn’t join your stupid housewarming if you paid me… You morons make me want to puke.” Fuyuhiko scoffed. 

“…………Perhaps you actually do want to join the party… Is that why you came by?” Chiaki inquired. 

“N…No way! I was just taking a damn walk! Do I have to give an advance notice every time I want to take a fucking walk?!” Fuyuhiko yelled, a blush rising to his cheeks. 

“No. That’s not what I was saying…” 

“Then get off my case.” He huffed, storming off. 

“After that, he went away.” Chiaki finished her story. 

“So you saw him… But, why did he come by the lodge…?” Hajime questioned. 

“…………I think he really did want to join the group, but just couldn’t bring himself to admit it…He thinks he’s surrounded by people who are too different from himself… and that’s why he’s always alone.” Chiaki told them, “…Do you know the title of the RPG whose protagonist is just like that?” 

“Wait, since when is this conversation about games?!” Hajime questioned. 

“No one knows what’s on his mind but him… but we don’t have any real reason to suspect him. That’s great. I’m relieved.” 

“How can you keep saying things are great? We still have no clue who the culprit is.” Hajime sighed. 

“…………Well… for the time being let’s go visit Byakuya’s cottage, like we planned.” Nagito avoided the question. 

“Slim odds will not dissuade one such as I…I will show you all… the Devildog Earring will be mine once more!” Gundham announced, then turning to Biyuki and Chiaki, “Should you still wish to help foolish mortals, I am taking my leave.” 

“Eh, why not? Got nothing better to do.” Biyuki replied with a smile, following Gundham as he went inside. 

“I think I’ll keep looking out here for a while.” Chiaki responded. 

**‘…The murder investigation really does mean nothing to him, doesn’t it?’** Hajime thought before he and Nagito began to walk towards Byakuya’s cottage, before they ran into Fuyuhiko. 

“…What? I told you to stay away, didn’t I?” Fuyuhiko huffed. 

“We can’t have that right now. You’ve heard Monokuma’s announcement, right?” Hajime told him. 

“Of course I did… It seems Byakuya got himself killed……But, why should I give a damn?” 

“W…What did you say…?” Hajime stuttered. 

“Do you think I did it? Think whatever you want… I’m used to being suspected.” 

“T…That’s not it…” Hajime stuttered out before Mizuki hopped up. 

“There you guys are!~ I was looking all over for you!” She chirped happily, then turning and smiling at Fuyuhiko, “Oh, you’re here too Fuyuhiko!~” 

“Tch, what, you’ve got her with you? What kinda Scooby Doo operation are you running?” Fuyuhiko huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Y’know, I have considered cosplaying Velma, but why does me being here make anything different?” Mizuki questioned, her smile waving and almost looking a tad hurt. 

“You’re a push over, there’s no way you’re gonna be able to do anything!” Fuyuhiko taunted. Mizuki frowned, walking closer to him until she was uncomfortably close, maybe an inch from his face and fixing him with serious eyes. 

“…You should know…Being kind, doesn’t make me a push over. It means I’m WILLING to bend for others.” Mizuki told him, Fuyuhiko blinking at the sudden change in atmosphere from her way of acting before the smile retook her face and she poked his nose, “Boop~” Fuyuhiko blinked then rolled his eyes. 

“Riiigggghhhhtttt, I’ll keep that in mind.” He grumbled, “Now back off will ya?” 

“Okay Fuyuhiko~” She hummed, backing up. 

“Anyways…just to be sure, can you tell us what you did when the party took place?” Hajime requested. 

“…Feh. An alibi check, is it? I don’t have one…I’ve been alone in my cottage the entire time.” Fuyuhiko huffed. 

“…The entire time? But…Chiaki said she met you in front of the lodge?” 

“Feh. Fuckin’ details…! Yes, I went for a damn walk. And I happened to pass by the lodge.” 

“Was that really just a walk? Maybe you thought you might join the party…?” 

“F…For the last fuckin’ time, it was a fuckin’ accident!!” 

“Okay, okay…” 

“But, if you did want to come in, you should have come! It would have been fun to see ya…” Mizuki told him with a soft smile. 

“I didn’t and I don’t! So drop it!” He growled before running off to his cottage. Mizuki sighed but looked after him, a look in her eyes Hajime couldn’t quite place. 

“…Anyways, we should head off to Byakuya’s Cottage.” Nagito replied, all of them walking off. They arrived at the cottage, Hajime reaching out to open the door, but the handle just rattling back and forth. 

“Huh? It seems the door is locked.” Hajime commented. 

“In that case… we have to ask him to do something about it…” Nagito muttered, taking a deep breath, “Heeeey, Monokuma!” It wasn’t even a second before Monokuma was there. 

“Did someone call?!” Monokuma asked. Mizuki crossed her arms, glaring at him. 

“Did you really have to call HIM?!” She grumbled. 

“N…Nagito… Since when do you have him under control…?” 

“Hey, Monokuma. We have a request for you. There’s something we want to investigate. Can you open Byakuya’s cottage for us? If we don’t investigate this place properly, the school trial can’t proceed properly. It’s necessary.” Nagito told him. 

“Necessary… for the school trial, you say? Hmm… if it’s necessary for the school trial, how can I refuse? Here we go! A magical incantation that opens any door!” Monokuma announced, turning the door and yelling: Open Sesame!” they heard the click of the lock before he turned back to them, “There. It’s open. Go ahead and investigate to your heart’s content!” And then he left without another word. 

“…Open Sesame…? What a cliché…” Mizuki muttered, shaking her head. 

“…………Did it really… open by incantation?” Hajime questioned. 

“It’s probably an electronic lock. He was just doing a stupid act.” Nagito replied. 

“Y…Yeah… Well, let’s go in.” Hajime told him. 

“Yeah, let’s.” They looked around, the place feeling surprisingly cold and empty without Byakuya’s presence...Mizuki crawled under the bed to look as the other two looked around the room, Hajime coming across an envelope on top of the table. 

“This looks like… a letter addressed to Byakuya…?” Hajime muttered, Nagito walking over as Mizuki popped back out from under the bed, coming over as well. 

“The sender’s name isn’t on it… This is a little suspicious…Hajime… I think we should check what’s inside.” Nagito suggested. 

“Yeah, you’re right…” Hajime agreed. 

“Are you sure? What if it’s something embarrassing that doesn’t have to do with the case…?” Mizuki worried. 

“Well, then we’ll just pretend we didn’t see it.” Hajime replied, opening it up and pulling out the contents, “Um……Eh?” Mizuki looked at the letter and read it off. 

“’Watch out. The first murder will occur tonight. It is inevitable.’” She read. 

“T…That’s…!” Hajime stuttered. 

“I…Is this… an advance notice of a crime?” Mizuki worried. 

“No… it says ‘watch out’, so it’s probably a threat…” Nagito replied. 

“W…Whatever it is, who the hell sent it?!” Hajime freaked. 

“I see… Perhaps…Perhaps this is the reason Byakuya announced a party so suddenly…” Nagito suggested. 

“…Eh?” Hajime and Mizuki said at the same time. 

“’The first murder will occur tonight’. Byakuya received this threatening letter, and…And that’s why he gathered everyone in one place, and was obsessive about confiscating dangerous items. He thought that, by doing all that, he could create a situation where we were all watching each other. He thought a culprit won’t be able to kill anyone under these circumstances…” Nagito explained, Mizuki’s face falling as she wrapped a hand around her fist and brought them to her chest. 

“Oh Byakuya…You just wanted to protect us all…” 

“So… you think he believed this dubious letter?” Hajime questioned. 

“He didn’t want to take any chances… He couldn’t just ignore the possibility the letter was real. Don’t you remember what he said? He promised us there wouldn’t be even a single victim.” Nagito retorted. 

“He wanted to keep this promise… and so he didn’t want to take any chances…? But… why did he keep it a secret? He should’ve just discussed it with us…” Hajime suggested. 

“I don’t think he could have… Think of the worst possible scenario…” Nagito replied. 

“…What do you mean?” 

“If he told everyone about this letter, it wouldn’t matter if it’s real or fake…Everyone would just turn paranoid again, and that’s not easily amendable.” Nagito muttered. 

“S…So…Byakuya decided to handle it himself, without telling anyone?” Mizuki sniffled. 

“He had a strong sense of responsibility… that’s the way I see it.” Nagito answered. 

“…………A…Anyway…Do you agree that whoever sent this letter is also the culprit who killed him?” Hajime wondered. 

“No… it’s still possible this letter is just a prank… that this has nothing to do with Byakuya’s death…” Nagito refuted. The room was dead silent, all three thinking solemnly before Nagito spoke up again. 

“……There’s probably not much time left until the school trial begins.” 

“Yeah…” Hajime agreed, Mizuki staying silent. 

“…………Ah! That reminds me. Didn’t you ask Mahiru to do something for you?” Nagito recalled. 

“Y…Yeah… She’s supposed to figure out where everyone was standing right before the power outage…” Hajime confirmed, “She’s probably done by now. You’re both coming with me, right?” 

“…………I’m sorry… I’ll leave that to you two.” Nagito replied. 

“Eh…?” 

“I want to… put my thoughts in order. I need some time alone.” Nagito clarified. 

“O…Okay… got it.” Hajime muttered as Nagito walked towards the door, stopping and looking over his shoulder before he left. 

“Oh, and if you’re going back to the lodge, you should probably talk to Mikan again, too. I think she’s probably also done with whatever examination she could make of the body.” Nagito recommended, “So… see you later.” And with that, Nagito left. Hajime turned to Mizuki. 

“You’re still coming, right…?” Hajime inquired. Mizuki nodded slowly. 

“…Hey, um, it’s okay if you aren’t up for it…” 

“No, I’ll be alright.” Mizuki insisted, “I have to be…Although…Do you think Nagito will be alright? He didn’t look well when he went off to think…” 

“You’re right…He did look pretty pale…But I think that’s something we’ll just have to trust him on for now.” Hajime replied. Mizuki nodded. 

“I suppose you’re right…Well then, I guess we should head over to the lodge.” Mizuki stated, puffing out her chest as she obviously was trying to look more ready than she was, but Hajime had a feeling she wouldn’t take some time to breathe no matter what he said, and they really didn’t have time to argue anyways. 

“Alright then, let’s go.” He agreed, the two walking out and towards the lodge. The second they walked in, there was a loud laugh echoing through the lodge. 

“GAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” 

“…Whoa!” Hajime exclaimed, hands flying to his ears, Mizuki tilting her head. 

“Who would be laughing at a time like this…?” She questioned, the two walking forward before spotting Nekomaru grinning widely and talking aloud. 

“Ah, truly a refreshing feeling…” He muttered, noticing as the two walked up, “How about it? Nekomaru Nidai is back to life! I shall not be beaten anymore!” 

“…Beaten by whom?” Hajime questioned with a raised brow. 

“Anyone. Not even my past self!” Nekomaru countered. 

“Not that you don’t sound impressive or anything, but… What the hell are you talking about?” Hajime wondered. 

“I’m talking about SHIIIIIIIIIIT!!” Nekomaru exclaimed loudly. 

“Whoa!” Hajime cried out as he covered his ears. 

“That’s right…Right before the blackout and after while we were all investigating you needed to go to the bathroom, but someone was in there, right?” Mizuki recalled. 

“Correct…Ku… I don’t know whose ploy it was to disgrace me by trying to make me dirty my pants……But since just before the party started, some miscreant has been exclusively occupying the toilet.” Nekomaru grumbled, “But, if they had thought their paltry effort would shake me, they greatly underestimated my guts and my perseverance. One must do everything swiftly and without losing composure. That’s the quality of a true champion! In other words, to be top on the leaderboard, one must remain composed at all times!” 

“…That was composed?” Mizuki questioned with a raised brow. Hajime decided to speak up before Nekomaru could react to that to try and save Mizuki a lecture. 

“Anyway… so the toilet was closed since the party began. When was it free again?” Hajime wondered. 

“It was finally free after we found Byakuya’s body……And that’s how I came to relieve myself.” Nekomaru recalled. 

“Alright then…We’ll keep that in mind.” Hajime told him before starting towards the hall again, Mizuki following not far behind. When they first arrived inside, the first person to notice and speak to them was Chiaki. 

“………Hmmm… It seems there isn’t anywhere inside the lodge where you can get under the floor. At least, not that I can see.” Chiaki told them. 

“Well, if I know him and Biyuki, they won’t stop looking until they’ve either found one or made one…” Hajime muttered, but before he could say anything else Mahiru grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around. 

“Hey! You’re late! What did you do, crawl here?” Mahiru scolded/ 

“I wasn’t crawling… there was just a lot to investigate, and I had to do it at my own pace.” Hajime defended. 

“Is that so? Well, as long as you were taking the job seriously, I guess its okay…” Mahiru huffed. 

“So… what about you?” Hajime inquired. 

“Yeah, about that…” 

“…You don’t sound too sure of yourself.” 

“Well, here - take a look.” Mahiru instructed, taking a piece of paper and moving to show it to Hajime, Mizuki peaking over their shoulders, “See, like we discussed, I studied the two photos I took just before the blackout……and tried to judge where everyone was standing. See? I made this map. So this is everyone’s positions before the blackout…most of us are in the big hall, but that was to be expected. I drew this based on the photos, so most of it should be spot on.” As Hajime looked at it, he noticed that there were three names in the places they should have been, Teruteru, Chiaki, and Peko, that could not be confirmed for sure with the pictures, locations of everyone in the room that were fairly accurate, but something seemed wrong…Though first he turned his eyes to Byakuya’s supposed position. 

“So Byakuya really was standing pretty far away from that table…” Hajime muttered, “It doesn’t seem plausible for him to have moved that far in pitch darkness…” Then he noticed something else, “Huh? What’s this? There’s a line stretching from the table we found Byakuya under.” 

“Um… it’s the tabletop lamp. I drew its cord, just in case it would be useful. I wanted to be thorough after all…” Mikan replied, “But there is one thing that really bugs me…” 

“What?” 

“From the pictures I took right before the blackout, I have no idea where Biyuki was. She’s the only one besides Fuyuhiko that I’ve got no idea for.” Mahiru muttered. Hajime’s eyes widened. That’s what had looked so odd! Biyuki hadn’t been on the map! 

“…Come to think of it, Biyuki left not long before the blackout, didn’t she…?” Hajime considered. 

“Oh! Don’t worry! She went to the bathroom!” Mizuki chirped, “She told me before she left!” 

**‘…The bathroom…? Something about that doesn’t seem quite right…’** Hajime thought, but Mahiru marked it down anyways. 

“Alright then, if she was in the bathroom, then that’s our map.” Mahiru finalized, “…So, was that of any help?” 

“Hmm… I still can’t say for sure…” Hajime muttered. 

“I thought so… I drew it myself and I can’t tell anything from it…I have a feeling there’s some clue hidden in there… but also that I may have worked for nothing…” 

“No, I don’t think it was for nothing.” Hajime assured. 

“…Eh?” 

“I’m not certain yet, but I have a feeling this map can tell us something.” Hajime muttered, “If you’ll excuse me though, I need to go talk to Mikan.” Mahiru nodded, Mizuki following suit as the two walked to her. Upon seeing them walking towards her, Mikan immediately came over and began to talk. 

“Um… if you don’t mind, can I please discuss something with you?” She requested. 

“Do you have any new information?” Hajime wondered. 

“Um… I examined Byakuya’s body the best I could under the circumstances…A…And… I found many stab wounds on Byakuya’s chest and abdomen…” Mikan reported, eyes darting between him and Mizuki, “T…The weapon… also pierced the lungs and the internal organs… and…Sniff… it was probably a thin sharp implement, about 5 millimeters in diameter… and…I…I…I think h…he was stabbed… again and again… and……Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Hajime and Mizuki jumped when Mikan began to cry. 

“H…Hey, are you alright?” Hajime wondered, Mizuki moving to her side and rubbing her back to comfort her. 

“I’m sorry…! Talking about it made me feel so sad!” Mikan sniffled. 

“T…Take it easy. I think I got most of what you were trying to say…” Hajime comforted. 

“U…Uuuu… I…I’m sorry…!” Mikan apologized. 

“It’s okay darling, you did a wonderful job!” Mizuki assured her. 

**‘5 millimeters in diameter, she said…’** Hajime thought, **‘But, isn’t that very thin? That’s like… an icepick or an awl or something…’** just as Hajime finished that thought, a sound like a school bell rang out, everyone turning to the monitors as they began to broadcast Monokuma. 

“It’s time! That’s right! It’s time for our long-awaited school trial! I will now announce the meeting place.” Monokuma instructed, “On the central island here in Jabberwock, there is a mountain with my cute face carved on it. Its name is ‘Monokuma Rock’! Please proceed to the underground elevator, accessible from a hidden secret entrance on that mountain. Upupu, see you later!!” They all watched as the monitors went blank, puzzling. 

“I don’t think I saw that the last time I looked…” Mahiru muttered. 

“…At any rate, doesn’t seem like there’s any choice but to go look for it now.” Hajime replied, turning, “Let’s get going.” Everyone nodded, though they looked at Byakuya’s body once more before leaving, various expressions on everyone’s faces. 

* * *

Surprisingly, it wasn’t long before they all found it, puzzling as everyone was sure that it had NOT been there before, except for Mizuki and Biyuki who had not exactly gone exploring since they’d arrived. 

“…Huh? Hey, where’d this mountain come from?! I…It wasn’t here before!!” Kazuichi stuttered out. 

“It seems… that the hypothesis we discussed before is true.” Peko muttered, crossing her arms, “About the possibility of a ‘powerful organization’ being involved here. There is no other way such a feet could be accomplished.” 

“That’s… what Byakuya said, isn’t it?” Hajime recalled. 

“Byakuya… We require still his wisdom and guidance… but he…” Sonia stated a tad shakily. 

“Ku… It’s still difficult to believe that he really is dead!” Nekomaru solemnly thought. 

“Byakuya-chan Byakuya-chan Byakuya-chan Byakuya-chan Byakuya-chan…” Ibuki repeated, practically foaming at the mouth. 

“…………By the way… where are Gundham, Biyuki, and Fuyuhiko?” Chiaki questioned. 

“N…Now that you mention it… it seems they aren’t here yet…”Mikan agreed, looking around. 

“We saw Fuyuhiko run into his cabin, but I doubt he wouldn’t have come…” Mizuki considered, “And knowing I was coming I can’t think that Biyuki wouldn’t show up to try and ensure my safety…Though I don’t know much about Gundham yet…” 

“Ah! I know! They all ran away!” Hiyoko giggled. 

“Oh, that won’t do! No one can escape me, after all! By which I mean to say… Look! I brought him with me!” Monokuma chirped, appearing out of nowhere with an angry Fuyuhiko. 

“L…Let me go!” Fuyuhiko demanded. 

“Hey, hey! If you keep struggling, I’m going to bite your legs off!” 

“Fuyuhiko! Where have you been until now?!” Mahiru scolded. 

“Nowhere in particular, not that it’s any of your fucking business. There I was, in my room, when all of a sudden I hear that Byakuya’s gone and gotten himself killed…Feh… The fuck does this even have to do with me?” Fuyuhiko muttered. 

“How can you even say such irresponsible things…?” Mahiru growled, “The rest of us have been working our asses off investigating so we can get through this! None of us wanted to, but we did it anyway!” 

“Mahiru… we shouldn’t fight…Fuyuhiko, you too…” Nagito muttered. 

“And besides, it’s pretty obvious what it has to do with you Fuyuhiko.” Mizuki replied. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Fuyuhiko demanded, “If you’re going to accuse me of being the killer already, than-!” 

“Nope, not gonna do that.” 

“Then what does this have to do with me?!” 

“Well, if the wrong person is voted guilty, it’s not just those present that will die…You will too.” Mizuki said simply, Fuyuhiko taken aback by this, “So, what it has to do with you…Is that your life is at stake. Just like ours.” Fuyuhiko stared at her for a moment before scoffing and looking away, crossing his arms. 

“Feh… Retards…! Dragging me into this…” 

“…All that’s left now is Gundham and Biyuki, right?” Akane commented. 

“…Seek not Gundham Tanaka… for he shall seek you, if you are worthy!” 

“Also, I’m getting annoyed with you all still calling me Biyuki when I specifically told you you should call me Yanii from now on.” Everyone turned as they saw the two walk up, Gundham speaking again before anyone could react. 

“Would you have me make my entrance early, when there are those not present to bear witness?!” 

**‘Oh, for the love of-…Huh?’** Hajime considered, as he noticed something different about Gundham from the last time he’d seen him…His earring, it seemed to be back. 

“…You seem to have noticed too, Hajime.” Nagito commented. 

“Muaaahahahaha!” Gundham laughed loudly. 

“Yeah, I noticed.” Hajime confirmed. 

“Well, then. It seems everyone is finally here. It’s time to use the ‘secret entrance’ and head to the courtroom!” Monokuma announced. 

“W…Wait a minute, please!” Monomi plead as she appeared suddenly. 

“…Oh? Monomi? Why are you here? No one asked for you, you know?” Monokuma replied, tilting his head. 

“I…I…!” 

“Hm? Do you want in on the fun too? Unbelievable. You actually want to put your incompetence on display at the school trial? I didn’t think you’d take the M in ‘Mascot’ so seriously…” Monokuma muttered, “ But who am I to refuse? I’m a very considerate big brother, so I’ll give you special permission to participate!” Monomi was silent, looking at him furiously before Monokuma responded, “Well, then. I’m going up ahead. Don’t keep me waiting!” And with that, he was gone. 

“S…So… Where exactly are we supposed to go now? I can’t see a door or a vehicle anywhere…” Teruteru pointed out. 

“He said there was a hidden entrance somewhere, didn’t he?” Mahiru commented, looking around. They all looked around, before Hajime noticed a bit of rock that seemed different, pressing it before the whole world seemed to shake. 

“W…What’s going on?! Something’s shaking!!” Hajime exclaimed. 

“I…It’s dangerous, everyone! Please take cover!” Monomi recommended. Just then, one of the Monokuma’s mouths opened and out came an escalator, moving towards the top as everyone stared in awe and terror. 

“S…Something came out of that mountain!!” Mikan stuttered out. 

“Don’t tell me… this is how we’re supposed to enter?” Peko guessed. 

“W…What is this ominous aura…?! It threatens to engulf even ‘Steel Red Elephant’ Maga-Z…!” Gundham worried. 

“Wow! This sure is weird and mysterious!” Hiyoko commented. 

“G…Gimme a break…! Seriously, gimme a break, will you…!” Kazuichi panicked. 

“C'mon, guys, enough is enough… There isn’t a shred of reality left in this place, is there? I mean…It’s impossible! How can a bunch of kids like us catch a culprit?!” Teruteru questioned. 

“N…Not by endlessly complaining, that’s for sure! You should act more like a man!” Mahiru scolded, “W…We came this far… We can only brace ourselves and keep going…” 

“Yeah… It’s not exactly like we can run away, is it? We have no choice but to keep going…” Hajime agreed. 

“If everyone’s mind is set… I’ll try doing my best as well. This game’s difficulty level is high… but I’m sure we can clear it together.” Chiaki motivated. 

“I don’t know what we’ll find when we go up there…But whatever it is, I know we can do our best to find out what happened! I’ll do my best to help protect everyone!” Mizuki stated surely. Hajime slowly stepped onto the escalator, legs shaking as he let it take him up, one by one everyone following suit. And once everyone was inside…The escalator retracted behind them, and they found themselves in an elevator, beginning to descend. 

“This is… an elevator!” Nekomaru stated, “I see… So this entire mountain just became an elevator!” 

“That Monokuma… doing whatever he wants again…” Chiaki sighed. 

“But… he went to the trouble of building all of that… Just how intent is he on toying with us?” Peko wondered. 

“We’ve been going down for a while now. This is just excessively deep, isn’t it?” Akane commented. 

“Yeah, sure is…” Hajime agreed. As the noise of the elevator rang in their ears, everyone stiff and on edge, they felt it slowly go deeper before it started to slow, and slow, before…it stopped. 

And the elevator doors slowly creaked open.


End file.
